The stress collapse in the formation of shear bands in elasto-thermo-viscoplatic materials is systematically studied within the framework of one-dimensional formulation via analytical and numerical methods. The elastic energy released in a domain is found to play an important role in the collapse behavior of shear localization. A non-dimensional parameter named the stability indicator is introduced to characterize the collapse behavior, with approximate forms of the incremental governing equations. The stability indicator offers useful information regarding the degree of severity of an abrupt change of deformations during the stress collapse. Numerical experiments are carried out to verify the stability indicator by varying material properties.