CHAPTER 17 Collective Behavior and Social Movements

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

2. Collective Behavior- the relatively spontaneous social behavior that occurs when people try to develop common solutions to unclear situations.

3. Characteristics of Collectives-3 Factors • Limited Interaction- members of social groups generally interact with one another directly, often for long periods of time. Interaction among members of collectives is limited and sometimes nonexistent.

4. Unclear Norms- the norms that guide behavior in social groups are clearly defined and widely understood. In collectives, norms for behavior are either unclear or unconventional. • Limited Unity- people who form social groups are generally united by an awareness that they are members of these groups. Members are collectives seldom share a sense of group unity.

5. Collectivity- A gathering of people who have limited interaction with one another and do not share clearly defined, conventional norms or a sense of group identity.

6. Section 1: Collective Behavior Types of Collectivities • Crowds – temporary gathering of people who are in close enough proximity to interact • Mobs – a mob is an emotionally charge collectivity whose members are united by a specific destructive or violent goal. • Riots- a collection of people who erupt into generalized destructive behavior, the result of which is social disorder.

7. 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

8. Section 1: Collective Behavior Types of Collectivities (continued) • Fashion– fashion refers to enthusiastic attachments among large numbers of people for particular styles of appearance or behavior. • Fads- is an unconventional object, action, or idea that a large number of people are attached to for a very short period of time

9. Section 1: Collective Behavior Types of Collectivities (continued) • Rumors – a rumor is an unverified piece of information that is spread rapidly from one person to another. • Urban Legends- 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

10. Section 1: Collective Behavior Explanations for Collective Behavior • Contagion Theory/GustaveLeBon – the hypnotic power of a crowd encourages people to give up their individuality to the stronger pull of the group • Emergent-Norm Theory/Ralph Turn & Lewis Killian people in a crowd are often faced with a situation in which traditional norms of behavior do not apply • Value-Added Theory/Neil Smelser – explains crowd behavior as a process that moves from step to step

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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