CHAPTER 17 Collective Behavior and Social Movements

1. CHAPTER 17Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section 1: Collective Behavior Section 2: Social Movements

2. Section 1: Collective Behavior Objectives: • Contrast the various types of collectivities and describe the explanations for collective behavior that have been proposed. • Identify the preconditions necessary for collective behavior to occur and explain how they build on one another.

3. Section 1: Collective Behavior Types of Collectivities • Crowds – temporary gathering of people who are in close enough proximity to interact • Mobs and Riots – a mob is an emotionally charge 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, the result of which is social disorder.

4. Section 1: Collective Behavior Types of Collectivities (continued) • Panics – a spontaneous and uncoordinated group action to escape some perceived threat • Mass Hysteria – an unfounded anxiety shared by people who can be scattered over a wide geographic area

5. Section 1: Collective Behavior Types of Collectivities (continued) • 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

6. Section 1: Collective Behavior Types of Collectivities (continued) • 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 – refers to the collection of differing attitudes that members of a public have about a particular issue

7. Section 1: Collective Behavior Explanations for Collective Behavior • 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

8. Section 1: Collective Behavior Preconditions of Collective Behavior • Structural Conduciveness – refers to the surrounding social structure that makes it possible for a particular type of collective behavior to occur • Structural Strain – refers to social conditions that put strain on people and thus encourage them to seek some collective means of relief

9. Section 1: Collective Behavior Preconditions of Collective Behavior (continued) • Growth and Spread of Generalized Belief –people identify the problem, form opinions about it, and share ways of dealing with it • Precipitating Factors – refer to triggering mechanisms that set off the behavior • Social Control – a mechanism used to control or minimize a situation

10. Section 2: Social Movements Objectives: • Describe the types of social movements that exist and explain how they differ. • Identify the stages present in the life cycle of social movements and describe ways in which the existence of social movements can be explained.

11. Section 2: Social Movements Types of Social Movements • Reactionary – 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 • Conservative – try to protect prevailing values from what are seen as threats to those values; examples: the religious right

12. Section 2: Social Movements Types of Social Movements (continued) • Revisionary – 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

13. Section 2: Social Movements Types of Social Movements (continued) • Revolutionary – seek a total radical change or existing social structure, overthrow existing government and replace it with their own version; often involve violent or illegal methods; example: the American Revolution

14. Section 2: Social Movements Life Cycle of 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

15. Section 2: Social Movements Explaining Social Movements • Relative Deprivation Theory – people join social movements because they feel 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