CHAPTER 4 Social Structure
Sociology
Preview
Collective Behavior and Social Movements
Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
Read to Discover
• How do the various types of collectivities differ, and what explanations for collective behavior have been proposed?
• What preconditions are necessary for collective behavior to occur, and how do they build on one another?
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
Question
What are some examples of the various types of collective behavior?
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
Mass
Hysteria
Crowds
Fashion
Mobs
Riots
Types of
Collective
Behavior
Fads
Rumors
Public
Opinion
Panics
Urban
Legends
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
• Crowds —temporary gatherings of people who are in close enough proximity to interact
• Mobs and Riots —a mob is an emotionally charged collectivity whose members are united by a specific destructive or violent goal; a riot is a collection of people who erupt into generalized destructive behavior, leading to social disorder
• Panics —spontaneous and uncoordinated group actions to escape perceived threats
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
• Mass Hysteria —an unfounded anxiety shared by people who can be scattered over a wide geographic area
• Fashion and Fads —fashion refers to enthusiastic attachments among large numbers of people for particular styles of appearance or behavior; a fad is an unconventional object, action, or idea that a large number of people are attached to for a very short period of time
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
• Rumors and Urban Legends —a rumor is an unverified piece of information that is spread rapidly from one person to another; an urban legend is a story that teaches a lesson and seems realistic but is untrue
• Public Opinion —the collection of differing attitudes that members of a public have about a particular issue
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
Explanations for Collective Behavior
• Contagion Theory — the hypnotic power of a crowd encourages people to give up their individuality to the stronger pull of the group
• Emergent-Norm Theory — people in a crowd are often faced with a situation in which traditional norms of behavior do not apply
• Value-Added Theory — explains crowd behavior as a process that moves from step to step
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
Question
What are the preconditions for collective behavior?
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
• Structural Conduciveness —the surrounding social structure that makes it possible for a particular type of collective behavior to occur
• Structural Strain —social conditions that put strain on people and thus encourage them to seek some collective means of relief
• Growth and Spread of Generalized Belief — people identify the problem, form opinions about it, and share ways of dealing with it
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 1: Collective Behavior
• Precipitating Factors —triggering mechanisms that set off the behavior
• Mobilization for Action —people gather to express their opinions through behavior
• Social Control —a mechanism used to control or minimize a situation
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 2: Social Movements
Read to Discover
• What types of social movements exist, and how do they differ?
• What stages are present in the life cycle of social movements, and how can the existence of social movements be explained?
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 2: Social Movements
Question
What types of social movements exist, and how do they differ?
Sociology Chapter 17
Type
Section 2: Social Movements
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Reactionary
Conservative
Revisionary
Revolutionary
Description and Example
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
Try to protect prevailing values from what are seen as threats to those values; example: the religious right
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
Seek a total radical change of existing social structure; overthrow existing government and replace it with their own versions; often involve violent or illegal methods; example: the American Revolution
Sociology Chapter 17
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
Sociology Chapter 17
Section 2: Social Movements
Explaining Social Movements
• Relative Deprivation Theory —people join social movements because they feel economically or socially 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
Sociology Chapter 17
Chapter Wrap-Up
Understanding Main Ideas
1.
How do collectivities differ from social groups?
2.
List and describe the four types of crowds identified by Herbert
Blumer.
3.
What is the difference between fads and fashions?
4.
List and give examples of the four types of social movements identified by William Bruce Cameron.
5.
Why are the original goals of a social movement sometimes swept aside during the bureaucratization stage of the social-movement life cycle?
6.
What do sociologists mean by the term relative deprivation ?
7.
According to resource-mobilization theory, what kinds of resources are needed for a social movement to be successful?
