UNIT 5: WARMUP #2
 In a hypothetical situation, you are sitting in a movie theater
watching a film & the film breaks.
 How does the audience respond?
 Why would they respond in that manner?
 A social movement is a _______________________________.
 Make a list of all the social movements you can think of from
United States & World History.
 Please be detailed in your responses, providing 2-3 sentences per
question & prompt.
Chapter 17
Collective Behavior &
Social Movements
Objectives
 The student will be able to contrast the various types of
collectivities & analyze the explanations for collective behavior
that have been proposed.
 The student will be able to identify the preconditions necessary
for collective behavior to occur & explain how they build on
one another.
 The student will be able to describe the types of social
movements that exist & explain how they differ.
 The student will be able to identify the stages present in the
life cycle of social movements & describe ways in which the
existence of social movements can be explained.
Collective Behavior
 the relatively
spontaneous social
behavior that occurs
when people try to
develop common
solutions to unclear
situations
Characteristics of Collectives
 limited interaction
 unclear norms
 limited unity
 group that share these characteristics known as a collectivity
Types of
Collective Behavior
Crowds
Riots
Mass Hysteria
Fads
Urban Legends
Mobs
Panics
Fashions
Rumors
Public Opinion
Crowds
 temporary gathering
of people who are in
close enough
proximity to interact
Mobs
 an emotionally charged collectivity whose
members are united by a specific destructive or
violent goal
Riots
 collection of people who erupt into
generalized destructive behavior, resulting in
social disorder
 less unified & focused than mobs
 London Graffiti Riot: Students & Police Clash!
Panics
 spontaneous & uncoordinated group action to
escape some perceived threat
Mass Hysteria
 unfounded anxiety shared by people who can
be scattered over a large geographic area
Fashions
 enthusiastic
attachments among
large numbers of
people for particular
styles of appearance
or behavior
Fads
 an unconventional object, action, or idea that a
large number of people are attached to for a
very short period of time
Rumors
 unverified pieces of information that spread
rapidly from one person to another
Urban Legends
 stories that teach a lesson & seem realistic but
are untrue
 Urban Legends Decoded: The Hook
Public Opinion
 collection of
different attitudes
that members of
the public have
about a particular
issue
Explaining
Collective Behavior
Contagion Theory
Emergent-Norm Theory
Value-Added Theory
Contagion Theory
 developed by Gustave LeBon
 1st systematic theory of collective behavior
 3 factors give crowds power over individuals:
numbers create anonymity of individual
members
spread of emotion like epidemic
members rapidly enter state of suggestibility
Emergent-Norm Theory
 developed by Ralph Turner &
Lewis Killian
 people in a crowd often faced
with a situation in which
traditional norms do not apply
 no clear standards of behavior
 new norms gradually emerge
Value-Added Theory
 proposed by Neil Smelser
 attempted to predict if collective behavior would occur & the
direction it might take
 taken from economic theory of the production process
 6 basic preconditions for social behavior:
1) structural conduciveness
2) structural strain
3) growth & spread of generalized belief
4) precipitation factors
5) mobilization for action
6) social control
Review of: Collective Behavior
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPV1NWA_16s
Social Movements
 a long-term, conscious effort to promote or
prevent social change
Prohibition in
the United
States: 1920s &
1930s
Types of Social
Movements
Reactionary, Conservative,
Revisionary, Revolutionary
Reactionary Movements
 main goal is to reverse current social trend or
“turn back the clock”
example: Tea Party,
Occupy Wall Street
Conservative Movements
 try to protect what
they see as society’s
prevailing values from
change that they
consider to be a threat
to those values
 example: Republican
Party within the
United States
Revisionary Movements
 goal is to improve or
revise some part of
society through social
change
 example: women’s suffrage
movement (1820s- 1920)
 Ending Women’s
Suffrage?
Revolutionary Movements
 goal is a total & radical
change to the existing
social structure
 example: French
Revolution
Life Cycle of
Social Movements
Agitation, Legitimation,
Bureaucratization, Institutionalization
Agitation
 begins with belief that
a problem exists
 small group begins to
stir up public
awareness
Legitimation
 social movement
becomes more
respectable as it gains
increasing acceptance
Bureaucratization
 movement develops a
ranked structure of
authority, official
policies & efficient
strategies for the
future
Institutionalization
 movement
becomes
established as a
part of society
Explaining
Social Movements
Relative Depravation Theory,
Resource Mobilization Theory
Relative Deprivation Theory
 economic theory that
suggests that social
movements arise
when large numbers
of people feel
economically or
socially deprived of
what they think they
deserve
Resource Mobilization Theory
 not even the most ill-
treated group will be
able to bring about
change without
resources
money ($$$)
people
media outlets
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
 Highlights: Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
 Final Speech: Jon Stewart @ Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
 In what ways is Jon Stewart’s speech related to, or a commentary
on, social movements?
 Would you define the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear as a social
movement? Why or why not?
 If you would classify it as a social movement, what kind of
movement is it? How do you know?
 If you would not classify it as a social movement, what would it
need to become one? Will it?
CHAPTER 17
 Page 448: #2-3
 Page 455: #2-3
 Page 458: #1-10 Identifying People & Ideas
 Page 458: #1-7 Understanding Main Ideas
 Page 459: #1-4 Building Social Studies Skills