Sociology CH 16 Social Change

What is social change?

The transformation of a culture over time

What do social scientists mean when they recognize several major “social revolutions”

Social scientists recognize several major periods of time during which large-scale social change took place so rapidly that the whole of human society was dramatically redefined

Fill in the Blank: The _____, ________, _______, and ______ of social changes ____ but society is always ______

Rates, intentionality, controversy, and importance of social changes vary but society is always changing

What are the ways that social change occurs?

• Major Physical events (hurricanes, natural disasters)

• Demographic factors (baby boomers aging, so American society has had to build schools and colleges in the 1950s and 60s)

• Innovations (the internet)

True or False: The most important contributions to social change have been made through collective action, like the Civils Rights movement

True

What are some of the most recent social movements?

• #MeToo Movement – a global movement against sexual harassment, assault, and gender-based violence 

• BLM – Founded in 2013 after killing of Martin, became the largest social movement in US History after the Killing of Floyd in 2020 

What is collective behavior and what does it suggest?

• Collective Behavior – behavior that follows from the formation of a group or crowd of ppl who take action tg toward a shared goal 

• Collective behavior theories suggest that such occurrences are often organized and maintain a certain amount of order 

What is the contagion theory?

one of the earliest theories of collective action; suggests that individuals who join a crowd can become “infected” by a mob mentality and lose the ability to reason

True or False: Contagion Theory succesfully explains wide ranges of collective behavior

False; this TH does not fully explain wide ranges of collective behavior

What is a crowd?

A temporary gathering of ppl in a public place; members might interact but do not identify w/ one another and will not remain in contact     (as a crowd, the people must adjust their behavior somewhat)

What is an example of a crowd?

A street performer is trying to gather a crowd, and when the crowd gathers the ppl who stopped to watch stopped their own personal purpose for walking down the street at that time, and have now become part of a crowd whose purpose is to be an audience for the street performer

What is a riot and an example of one?

• Riot – continuously disorderly behavior by a group of ppl that disturbs the peace and is directed toward other ppl and/or property 

• EX: crowds of excited sports fans can become destructive and violent in their celebrations, like Eagles fans following the Super Bowl LII victory 

What is mass behavior and example?

• Mass Behavior - similar behaviors engaged in by large groups of ppl who are not necessarily in the same geographic place 

• Ex: sharing TikTok videos, buying a certain kind of sneaker, and getting a tattoo are all examples of mass behaviors 

What are the 3 areas of mass behavior?

Fads, fashion, and social dilemmas

What are fads and an example?

• Fads – interests or practices followed enthusiastically for a relatively short period of time

• Ex: Products (electric cars or Apple watches), clothing styles (athleisure), pets (purse-sized toy dogs), dieting (fad diets like low-carb/gluten free diets) 

True or False: While fads do not usually result in lasting social change, they follow certain social norms and can create a unified identity among those who practice them

True

What is fashion, according to mass behaviors?

• Fashions - the widespread custom or style of behavior and appearance at a particular time or in a particular place

• Fashion can mark you as belonging to a certain group (school uniforms/military fatigues)

• EX: Fashion Trends (baggy clothes for boys/leggings for girls)

What are social dilemmas?

Behaviors that is rational for an individual that can lead to collective disaster

What is an example of a social dilemma?

When you’re stuck in traffic jam caused by an accident, you wait for a long time → once you’re out of the jam and traffic begins to flow for you, you take a second to look at the damage caused by the accident, which could’ve been avoided if the drivers in the accident were driving normally → your hesitation causes the traffic jam to be worse