Week 11 - Social Movements

Collective behaviour

group behaviour that is relatively spontaneous, unstructured, and unconventional in nature

Crowd

Temporary gathering of people in same place at same time

Types of crowds

Casual

Conventional

Expressive

Acting (protests)

Casual Crowd

Gathered by proximity and coincidence

Conventional Crowd

Gathered through shared interest or objective

Expressive crowd

Gathered with purpose to participate or because of shared interest

Acting (protest) crowd

gathered to engage in collective behaviour in pursuit of a common goal

Contagion theory

people lose their individuality in crowds and engage in behaviour they would not as an individual due to anonymity, contagion, and suggestibility

Convergence theory

Crowds come together because of prior predisposition, creating collective behaviour that is outcome of preexisting beliefs

Convergence theory critisism

Fail to account for group influences

situational factors and interaction in crowds producing different outcomes

Emergent Norm Theory

collective behaviour in crowds result from norms being developed that redefine right and wrong in response to unique situational events

Takes into account both individual and collective levels

Disaster

relatively sudden, unscheduled, one time event that causes great deal of damage or large-scale loss of life and substantial distribution or stress among residents

Moral panic

irrational but widespread worry that certain groups represent a terrible threat to the social order

Moral panic development

Identification of a group blamed for menacing a culture

Moral entrepreneurs who deem it important to bring behaviour to others

Mass media who spread version of the story

Social movements

organized efforts by substantial number of people to change or resist change in some major aspect(s) of society

Claims

statement about some phenomenon that is constructed as a social problem

Claims making

Declaring that a particular condition is unjust and identifying the measures it considers necessary to correct the injustice

Social Movement Organization

complex or formal organization that identifies its goals with preferences of a social movement or countermovement and attempts to implement said goals

Dimensions of social movements

Type of change

degree of change

recipients

means utilized

Types of social movements

Alterantive

Redemptive

Reformative

Revolutionary

Alternative social movements

seek limited change for a specific group of narrow segment of society

Redemptive social movements

seek large-scale change for a specific group in society

Reformative social movement

seek change on specific issue for everyone

Revolutionary social movement

seek massive change for everyone in a society

Functionalism: Value added theory

social change happens through six structured steps:

structural conduciveness

Structural strain

Growth and spread of generalized belief

precipitating factors

mobilization of participation

operation of social control

Conflict: Resource mobilization theory

Social movements develop as a function of how resources are brought together and utilized by leaders

Interactionalism: New social movement theory

Movements have emerged that are based on human rights issues rather than primarily economic concerns

Collective identity

shared sense of belonging that binds individuals in a social movement and propels them to take action on behalf of social movement

Interactionalism: frames and frame alignment

Framing processes help transition individual views into shared ones that become a part of collective identity

Frame alignment is how social movement organizations present their claims in a manner that fits individuals existing ideas and values

Frames

cognitive structures that allow people to take notice of objects and events in the wider world in the context of their own life expectations

Moral panic

irrational but widespread worry that certain groups present an enormous threat to the social order of society

Moral entrepreneurs

Person who brings perceived morally damaging behaviour to the attention of others