1. CHAPTER 17 Collective Behavior and Social Movements
Sociology
3/31/2017
CHAPTER 17 Collective Behavior and Social Movements
Section 1: Collective Behavior
Section 2: Social Movements
Chapter 17

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. Types of Collectivities
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. Types of Collectivities
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. Types of Collectivities
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. Types of Collectivities
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. Explanations for Collective Behavior
Section 1: Collective Behavior
Explanations for Collective Behavior
Contagion Theory/Gustave LeBon – 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. Preconditions of Collective Behavior
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. Preconditions of Collective Behavior
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. Types of Social Movements
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. Types of Social Movements
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. Types of Social Movements
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. Life Cycle of Social Movements
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. Explaining Social Movements
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