collective behavior and social movements

Sociology Chapter 17

Collective Behavior and Social Movements

Preview

Section 1: Collective Behavior

Section 2: Social Movements

Chapter Wrap-Up


Read to Discover

• How do the various types of collectivities differ, and what explanations for collective behavior have been proposed?

• What preconditions are necessary for collective behavior to occur, and how do they build on one another?



Question

What are some examples of the various types of collective behavior?



Urban Legends

Rumors

Fads

Fashion

Mobs

Riots

Public Opinion Panics

Mass Hysteria

Types of Collective Behavior

Crowds



• Crowds—temporary gatherings of people who are in close enough proximity to interact

• Mobs and Riots—a mob is an emotionally charged collectivity whose members are united by a specific destructive or violent goal; a riot is a collection of people who erupt into generalized destructive behavior, leading to social disorder

• Panics—spontaneous and uncoordinated group actions to escape perceived threats



• Mass Hysteria—an unfounded anxiety shared by people who can be scattered over a wide geographic area

• Fashion and Fads—fashion refers to enthusiastic attachments among large numbers of people for particular styles of appearance or behavior; a fad is an unconventional object, action, or idea that a large number of people are attached to for a very short period of time



• Rumors and Urban Legends—a rumor is an unverified piece of information that is spread rapidly from one person to another; an urban legend is a story that teaches a lesson and seems realistic but is untrue

• Public Opinion—the collection of differing attitudes that members of a public have about a particular issue



• Contagion Theory—the hypnotic power of a crowd encourages people to give up their individuality to the stronger pull of the group

• Emergent-Norm Theory—people in a crowd are often faced with a situation in which traditional norms of behavior do not apply

• Value-Added Theory—explains crowd behavior as a process that moves from step to step


Explanations for Collective BehaviorExplanations for Collective Behavior


Question

What are the preconditions for collective behavior?



• Structural Conduciveness—the surrounding social structure that makes it possible for a particular type of collective behavior to occur

• Structural Strain—social conditions that put strain on people and thus encourage them to seek some collective means of relief

• Growth and Spread of Generalized Belief—people identify the problem, form opinions about it, and share ways of dealing with it



• Precipitating Factors—triggering mechanisms that set off the behavior

• Mobilization for Action—people gather to express their opinions through behavior

• Social Control—a mechanism used to control or minimize a situation



Read to Discover

• What types of social movements exist, and how do they differ?

• What stages are present in the life cycle of social movements, and how can the existence of social movements be explained?



Question

What types of social movements exist, and how do they differ?



Type Description and Example

Reactionary

Conservative

Revisionary

Revolutionary

Try to prevent a type of social change and return society to a past way of being; often use fear and violence; example: Ku Klux Klan

Try to protect prevailing values from what are seen as threats to those values; example: the religious right

Try to improve some part of society through social change; usually use legal methods and focus on a single issue; example: women’s suffrage movement

Seek a total radical change of existing social structure; overthrow existing government and replace it with their own versions; often involve violent or illegal methods; example: the American Revolution

SOCIAL MOVEMENTSSection 2: Social Movements


• Agitation—initial stirrings of a movement

• Legitimation—movement viewed as more respectable

• Bureaucratization—structure of movement more formal

• Institutionalization—an established part of society


Life Cycle of Social MovementsLife Cycle of Social Movements


• Relative Deprivation Theory—people join social movements because they feel economically or socially deprived relative to other people or groups with whom they identify

• Resource-Mobilization Theory—not even the most ill-treated group with the most just cause will be able to bring about change without resources


Explaining Social MovementsExplaining Social Movements


Chapter Wrap-Up Understanding Main Ideas

1. How do collectivities differ from social groups?

2. List and describe the four types of crowds identified by Herbert Blumer.

3. What is the difference between fads and fashions?

4. List and give examples of the four types of social movements identified by William Bruce Cameron.

5. Why are the original goals of a social movement sometimes swept aside during the bureaucratization stage of the social-movement life cycle?

6. What do sociologists mean by the term relative deprivation?

7. According to resource-mobilization theory, what kinds of resources are needed for a social movement to be successful?

collective behavior and social movements

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