Chapter 16, Collective Behavior, Social Movements, and Social Change Collective Behavior Social Movements Social Movement Theories Social Change in the Future

Conditions for Collective Behavior Contributing factors: Structural factors that increase the chances of people responding in a particular way. Timing A breakdown in social control mechanisms and a corresponding feeling of normlessness. A common stimulus.

Types of Crowd Behavior Casual crowds - people who happen to be in the same place at the same time. Conventional crowds - people who come together for a scheduled event and share a common focus. Protest crowds - crowds that engage in activities intended to achieve political goals.

Types of Crowd Behavior Expressive crowds - people releasing emotions with others who experience similar emotions. Acting crowds - collectivities so intensely focused that they may erupt into violent behavior.

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. Social unrest and circular reaction - the discontent of one person is communicated to another who reflects it back to the first person.

Explanations of Crowd Behavior Convergence theory - focuses on the shared emotions, goals, and beliefs people bring to crowd behavior. Emergent norm theory - crowds develop their own definition of the situation and establish norms for behavior that fits the occasion.

Types of Social Movements Reform movements seek to improve society by changing an aspect of the social structure. Revolutionary movements seek to bring about a total change in society. Religious movements seek to produce radical change in individuals and typically are based on spiritual or supernatural belief systems.

Types of Social Movements Alternative movements seek limited change in some aspect of people's behavior. Resistance movements seek to prevent or undo change that has already occurred.

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.

Conditions Necessary for Social Movements Structural conduciveness Structural strain Spread of a generalized belief Precipitating factors Mobilization for action Social control factors