Collective Behaviour, Social Movements, and Social Change

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Outline  Collective Behaviour  Social Movements  Social Movement Theories  Social Change in the Future

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Collective Behaviour  Defined: – Voluntary, often spontaneous activity that is engaged in by a large number of people and typically violates dominant group norms and values (p. 632)  Contrast to organizational behaviour  Examples: social protests against social problems

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Conditions for Collective Behaviour  Terms:  Collectivity: a relatively large number of people who mutually transcend, bypass, or subvert established institutional patterns and structures (p.632)  Conditions: –Timing –Breakdown in social control mechanism

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Dynamics  Acting outside of established norms  Need of immediate communication  Attitudes: people tend to have attitudes about something but do not do anything about it  Why collectively and not individually? –Strength in numbers

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Distinctions  Crowds  Defined: a relatively large number of people who are in one another’s immediate vicinity  Masses  Defined: a large number of people who share an interest in a specific idea or issue but are not in one another’s immediate vicinity

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Casual and Conventional Causal: large; happen to be in one place at one time Conventional: those who come together for a scheduled event Expressive and Acting Crowds Expressive: Come together to express a strong emotions Acting: intense and violent Mob: a highly emotional crowd who are violent against a person, groups or places Riot: violent crowds with no target Panic: when people react to a real or perceived threat Protest Not violent; may take the form of civil disobedience (Martin Luther King Jr) Types of Crowd Behaviour

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Explanations  Contagion: people feel vulnerable and, with anonymity, the crowd transforms people from being rational to being irrational and with a common mind (p. 637)  Social unrest and circular reaction: social unrest is transmitted by a process of circular reaction—discontent is passed to others and then returns again from whence it began

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Explanations  Convergence theory: the shared emotions, goals, and beliefs many people bring to crowd behaviour. These shared elements bring people together  Applied to lynch mobs and environmental protests

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Explanations  Emergent Norm Theory  The vitality of social norms in shaping crowd behaviour  The behaviour is not purely random and irrational  Example: the Los Angeles riots of 1992 purposively targeted Korean businesses

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Mass Behaviour Defined:  a collective behaviour that takes place when people respond to the same event in much the same way (e.g., a rock concert) Types:  Rumours  Gossip  Mass hysteria  Public opinion  Fashions  Fads  Propaganda

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Mass Behaviour Rumours  Unsubstantiated reports on an issue or subject Gossip  Refers to rumours about the personal lives of others Mass hysteria  Dispersed collective behaviour that occurs when a large number of people react with strong emotions and self-destructive behaviour

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Mass Behaviour Fads  Temporary but widely copied activity enthusiastically followed by large numbers of people  Examples: Harry Potter, Pokemon and the like Fashions  Currently valued style of behaviour, thinking or appearance

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Mass Behaviour  Public Opinion  Political attitudes and beliefs communicated by ordinary citizens to decision makers  Propaganda  Information provided by individuals or groups that have a vested interest in furthering their own cause or damaging an opposing one

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Social Movements  Defined: an organized group that acts consciously to promote or resist change through collective action (p. 645)  Elements: –More likely in democracies –Help excluded groups into political processes –Rely on volunteers

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Types of Social Movements  Reform  Revolutionary  Religious  Alternative  Resistance

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Types of Social Movements  Reform  Movements that seek to improve society  Work within existing structures  Examples: labour movements, animal rights  Revolutionary  Hope to bring about a total change in society  Examples:  French(1789), American (1779), or Russian Revolutions (1917)

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Types of Social Movements  Terrorism– calculated unlawful use of physical force or threats of violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, organization, or individual for the purpose of gaining some political, religious, economic or social objective  Example: 09/11/01  Religious  Inner change focus  Messianic movements are examples

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Types of Social Movements  Alternative– To seek limited change in some aspects of people’s lives  Example: The Women’s Christian Temperance Union to prevent the use of alcohol  Resistance  Seek to prevent change  Example: the Pro Life Movement to protect the rights of the unborn

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Social Movement Theories  Relative Deprivation  Value-Added  Resource Mobilization  Social Constructionist  New Social Movement

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Relative Deprivation  Theme: people are not satisfied with their present condition  They may feel when they compare their achievement with those of similarly situated persons and find that they have less than what they deserve

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Value-Added  Theme: that each step in the production process adds something to the finished product –Certain conditions must be met for the development of a social movement:  1) Structural conduciveness  2) Structural strain

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Value-Added  Elements are needed: –3) Spread of generalized belief –4) Precipitating factors –5) Mobilization for action –6) Social control factors

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Resource Mobilization  Theme: members of a social movement gather, trade, use, and occasionally waste resources  Resources such as: money, members’ time, access to the media, property and equipment  Use of reason to plan for their strategies

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Social Constructionist  A version of symbolic interactionism  Frame analysis from Goffman  Goal: to try to isolate some of the basic frameworks of understanding available in our society for making sense out of events and to analyze the special vulnerabilities to which these frame of reference are subject (p. 650 and Goffman)

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Social Constructionist  Applied to a social movement:  A grievance needs to be present  Then, these ways of framing it are created: –1) Diagnostic framing –2) Prognostic framing –3) Motivational framing –4) Frame alignment  Shows how a social movement is mentally constructed before it becomes a reality

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada New Social Movement  Theme: scholars look at a diverse array of collective actions and the manner in which these actions are based on politics, ideology, and culture  Elements: –Personal identity, race, class, gender and sexuality

Copyright © 2004 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada New Social Movement  Examples: –Ecofeminism –Concerns with the environment –New term: environmental racism —the belief that a disproportionate number of hazardous facilities are placed in low-income areas populated primarily by people of colour (p. 651)

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Social Change in the Future  Other factors besides collective behaviour and social movements contribute to change. They include:  The Physical Environment  Population  Technology  Social Institutions