Collective Behavior and Social Movements Sociology 101 Chapter 16 Collective Behavior and Social Movements

Collective Behavior Collective behavior is voluntary, often spontaneous activity that is engaged in by a large number of people and typically violates dominant-group norms and values. Collective behavior can take various forms, including crowds, mobs, riots, panics, fads, fashions, and public opinion. What forms of collective behavior have you taken part in?

Types of Crowd Behavior Casual and conventional crowds - people who happen to be in the same place at the same time or for a scheduled event Expressive and acting crowds – join to express some strong emotion, may erupt into violent or destructive behaviors Protest crowds - crowds that engage in activities intended to achieve political goals.

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. Le Bon asserted that emotions such as fear and hate are contagious in crowds because people experience a decline in personal responsibility; they will do things as a collectivity that they would never do when acting alone. Gustave Le Bon

Social unrest and circular reaction Sociologist Robert E. Park was the first U.S. sociologist to investigate crowd behavior. the discontent of one person is communicated to another who reflects it back to the first person. Robert Park

Convergence theory focuses on the shared emotions, goals, and beliefs people bring to crowd behavior (Turner and Killian,1993). people with similar attributes find a collectivity of like-minded persons with whom they can express their underlying personal tendencies. Ralph Turner

Emergent norm theory crowds develop their own definition of the situation and establish norms for behavior that fits the occasion (Turner and Killian,1993).

Collective Behavior Collective behavior approach (Predominant until the 1960s) Emphasizes social-psychology places great significance on the role of grievances and stresses the importance of emotions and feelings instead of rational decision making Includes: Riots, fads, fashions, panics, crazes, manias, mobs, rebellions, and revolutions Are typically unorganized and the social ties between members are thin

Social Movements A social movement is an organized group that acts consciously to promote or resist change through collective action (Goldberg, 1991). Because social movements have not become institutionalized and are outside the political mainstream, they offer outsiders an opportunity to have their voices heard.

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.

But how do we explain the emergence of social movements and why some people join them?

The Relative Deprivation Model Until the 1960s several social-psychological models prevailed These models suggested that people suffer some type of deprivation that motivated them to join a social movement or NRM Deprivation could be economic, social, or psychological Members were assumed to be recruited from marginal segments of society Members were often assumed to have some sort of pathology Yet members of social movements in the 1960s were well adjusted, came from middle and upper class families, were highly educated, etc.

Relative Deprivation Theory Thus, Charles Glock argued that perhaps deprivation was relative rather than absolute Members only had to *believe* that they were deprived Argues that relative deprivation in some form is a necessary condition for the rise of an NRM

The J-Curve Theory of Social Crisis Hopes for Change Actual Rate of Crisis Occurs

Value-Added Theory Neil Smelser asserted, six conditions are necessary and sufficient to produce social movements when they combine or interact in a particular situation:

Value Added Theory Structural conduciveness Structural strain Spread of a generalized belief Precipitating factors Mobilization for action Social control factors

Resource Mobilization Resource Mobilization (RM) (developed in the 1970s) Emphasizes social structure Places great significance on the importance of rational decision making and structural factors such as the physical resources needed to pull off a social movement Grievances, therefore, aren’t as important as the availability of resources

Social Movement Theories: Resource Mobilization Theory Focuses on the ability of members of a social movement to acquire resources and mobilize people in order to advance their cause Mayer Zald

Resource Mobilization Resources include money, people’s time and skills, access to the media, and material goods, such as property and equipment. Assistance from outsiders is essential for social movements. John D. McCarthy

Social Constructionist Theory: Frame Analysis Based on the assumption that a social movement is an interactive, symbolically defined, and negotiated process that involves participants, opponents and bystanders Our interpretation of the particulars of events and activities is dependent on the framework from which we perceive them. Erving Goffman

Frame Analysis Frames help to render events or occurrences meaningful and thereby function to organize experience and guide action Simplifies and condenses the “world out there” thus providing focus Robert Benford David Snow

Political Opportunity Theory Social protests are directly related to the political opportunities that potential protesters and movement organizers believe exist within the political system at any given point in time. Based on the assumption that social protests that take place outside of mainstream political institutions are deeply intertwined with more conventional political activities that take place inside these institutions. Doug McAdam

New Social Movement Theory Looks at a diverse array of collective actions and the manner in which those actions are based on politics, ideology, and culture. Examples of “new social movements” include ecofeminism and environmental justice movements. Stephen Buechler