Download CHAPTER 4 Social Structure

Sociology
Chapter 17
Collective Behavior
and Social Movements
Preview
Section 1: Collective Behavior
Section 2: Social Movements
Chapter Wrap-Up
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
Types of
Collective
Behavior
Mobs
Riots
Public
Opinion
Panics
Fads
Rumors
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
Section 2: Social Movements
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Type
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?