Transcript Chapter 17

Collective Behavior and Social Movements
Collective Behavior
 Voluntary, often spontaneous activity that is
engaged in by a large number of people and
typically violates dominant group norms and
values
• Types of collective behavior may be distinguished by
the dominant emotion expressed.
 In contrast, institutionalized behavior refers to
activity that is guided by firmly established
norms.
• Going to school, movies, working etc.
The Collective
Behavior
Continuum
Factors That Contribute to
Collective Behavior
1. Structural factors that increase the
chances of people responding in a
particular way
2. Timing
3. Breakdown in social control mechanisms
and corresponding feeling of
normlessness
Explaining Collective Behavior
Value-Added Theory (Neil Smelser)
Argued that 6 conditions must be present for collective
behavior to occur:
1. Society is structurally conducive to the occurrence of
collective behavior
2. Structural strain
3. Generalized belief of what is wrong and what could be
done
4. Precipitating incident sparks collective behavior
5. Mobilization of action
6. Agents of social control conducive to the collective
action
Value-Added Theory Example
The Los Angeles Riots (1992)
• The 1st amendment to the
constitution gave rioters the right
to assemble.
• There was a long time strain
between the LAPD and the local
African American population.
• A general feeling already existed
that the social ills faced by African
Americans were the product of
Racism, then came the acquittal of
the four officers charged with
beating Rodney King.
• Once a few started to act and
television gave coverage to them,
the activity started to spread.
• Early inaction by the police
prolonged events and allowed it to
grow.
Crowds v. Masses
Crowd – a relatively large number of
people who are in one another’s
immediate vicinity
Mass – a number of people who share an
interest in a specific idea or issue but who
are not in one another’s immediate vicinity
(for example, bloggers)
Types of Crowds
 Casual crowds - people who happen to be in
the same place at the same time, may share
momentary interest and a few emergent norms
(e.g., people in a subway car or at a shopping
mall)
 Conventional crowds - people who come
together for a scheduled event; share a
common focus and generally act in line with
institutionalized norms (e.g., people at a
concert, college lecture, or ceremony)
Types of Crowds (cont’d.)
 Expressive crowds - people releasing emotions
with others who experience similar emotions;
dominant expression is joy (e.g., Mardi Gras, New
Year’s)
 Acting crowds - collectivities so emotionally
focused that they may erupt into violent behavior;
hostility toward a singular target as in a mob, or a
range of shifting targets as in a riot
 Protest crowds - crowds that engage in activities
intended to achieve political goals, generally nonviolent and contain leadership (e.g., sit-ins)
Explanations of Crowd Behavior
 Contagion Theory - People are more likely to
engage in antisocial behavior in a crowd because
they are anonymous and feel invulnerable.
Crowd excitement is contagious and breaks
down the restraint of individuals. Collective
behavior is understood as irrational, people
will do things in a collectivity that they will not
do alone.
Explanations of Crowd Behavior
 Emergent norm theory - tied to Symbolic
Interactionism. When expectations are vague,
crowds develop their own definition of the
situation and establish norms for behavior that
fits the occasion. Collective behavior is
understood as rational, and people are free to
leave if crowd behavior begins to offend them.
Types of Mass Behavior
 Rumors and Gossip
• Unverified information
passed informally from
person to person
• Sociologists ask how
rumors serve to solve
problems and reduce
anxiety
• Thrive in times of
uncertainty
• Gossip - rumors about
personal affairs
• Urban Legend - rumors
recounting scary events,
often offer life lessons
 Mass Hysteria
• Intense, fearful, and
seemingly irrational
reaction to a perceived—
but often misunderstood or
imaginary—threat
 Fads and Fashions
• Periodic popularity of
styles
• Occurs most frequently in
modern societies where
change is appreciated
 Public Opinion
• Attitudes and beliefs
communicated by ordinary
citizens to decision makers
Mass Hysteria and Panic:
The War of the Worlds
 Halloween Eve, 1938
• Actor Orson Welles performed a radio dramatization of
H.G. Wells’s science-fiction classic The War of the Worlds.
• CBS radio dance music program suddenly interrupted by a
news bulletin informing the audience that Martians had
landed in New Jersey and were conquering Earth.
• Although listeners informed before, during, and after the
broadcast that this was fictitious dramatization, many
became fearful. An estimated 1 million of the 10 million
listeners believed that these events had actually occurred.
 Halloween Eve, 1988
• A Portuguese radio station rebroadcast the original
program on the 50th anniversary, and again panic ensued.
Social Movement
 An organized group
that acts consciously
to promote or resist
change through
collective action
(using at least some
unconventional or
uninstitutionalized
methods)
Propaganda
Information provided by individuals or
groups that have a vested interest in
furthering their own cause or damaging an
opposing one.
Types of Social Movements
 Revolutionary movements seek to bring about
a total change in society.
 Reactionary movements try and reverse
current social trends.
 Conservative movements try to protect what
they see as society’s prevailing values from
change that they consider to be a threat to those
values.
 Revisionary movements is to improve, or
revise, some part of society through social
change.
Stages in Social Movements
Preliminary stage - people begin to
become aware of a threatening problem.
Coalescence stage - people begin to
organize and start making the threat
known to the public.
Institutionalization stage organizational structure develops.
Social Movement Theories
Relative
Deprivation
People compare achievements, become
discontent and join social movements to
get their “fair share”.
Resource
Mobilization
People participate in social movements
when the movement has access to key
resources.
New Social
Movement
Focus on sources of social movements,
including politics, ideology, and culture.
Social Construction Used to determine how people assign
Theory:
meaning to activities and processes in
Frame Analysis
social movements.
What Types of People Join Social
Movements?
 Individuals that are deeply committed to a set of
goals
 Those that support the goals of the movement
 Those who enjoy being a part of the social
movement (insecure)
 Those that are curious about social movement
activities
 Those that use the social movement’s activities
for their own personal interests
How are age
and education
related to
support for
social
movement
activity?
What type of
social
movement
activities would
you support?
Review
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