Dynamics of Collective Behavior, Social Movements & Change

1. Collective Behavior, Social Movements, and Social Change Chapter 15

2. 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.

3. Factors That Contribute to Collective Behavior • Structural factors that increase the chances of people responding in a particular way. • Timing. • Breakdown in social control mechanisms and corresponding feeling of normlessness.

4. Crowd and Mass • Crowd is a relatively large number of people who are in one another’s immediate vicinity. • Tend to share an interest • Mass is a number of people who share an interest in a specific idea or issue but are not in one another’s immediate vicinity. • Politicians

5. Types of Crowd Behavior • Expressive crowds - people releasing emotions with others who experience similar emotions. • Funerals, religious services • Acting crowds - crowds so intensely focused that they may erupt into violent behavior. • All crowds can become acting crowds

6. Types of Crowd Behavior • Casual crowds - people who happen to be in the same place at the same time. • Mall, subway • Conventional crowds - people who come together for a scheduled event and share a common focus. • Sporting events, concerts • Protest crowds - crowds that engage in activities intended to achieve political goals. • Civil disobedience or acting crowd

7. Acting Crowds • Mob…a highly emotional crowd whose members engage in, or are ready to engage in, violence against a specific target. • Person, category of people, or property. • Riot…violent crowd behavior that is fueled by deep-seated emotions but is not directed at a specific target. • Not always a result of anger • Panic…a form of crowd behavior that occurs when a large number of people react to a real or perceived threat with strong emotions and self-destructive behavior. • People trying to escape from danger

8. Explanations of Crowd Behavior…Why do people act collectively? • 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.

9. 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.

10. Mass Behavior • Mass behavior is behavior that occurs when people (may not be in same area) act in the same way. • Results from having common information • Rumors • Gossip

11. Mass Behavior • Mass hysteria…a dispersed panic. • Behavior is that of panic but not everyone is in the same location. • A “widespread panic.”

12. Public Opinion and Propaganda • Public Opinion…attitudes and beliefs communicated by ordinary citizens and decision makers. • Measured through polls and surveys • Propaganda…information provided by groups or individuals that have an interest in furthering their own cause or damaging an opposing one.

13. Social Movements • Social movement is an organized group that acts consciously to promote or resist change through collective action. • Start at “grassroots” levels • Diversity contributes

14. Success of Social Movements • Diversity • Mobilizing resources • Frame alignment…recruiting of members

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. Social Movement Theories

19. Social Change in the Future • The world continues to change …environmentally, politically, and economically. • As a result, the world will experience changes in population, technology, and social institutions. • It is important to be aware of social elements and how we need to react and adapt in the future to benefit society.