Notes to Social Movements and Social Change

I. COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR

A. Social change

• Social Change:  The alteration, modification, or transformation of public policy, culture, or social institutions over time; such change usually is brought about by collective behavior-relatively spontaneous, unstructured activity that typically violates established social norms.
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B. Dynamics of Collective Behavior

• First, there must be: Conditions for Collective Behavior (Not on the overhead—fit this info. in somehow)

1. Collective behavior occurs as a result of some common influence or stimuli which produces a response from a collectivity-a relatively large number of people who mutually transcend, bypass, or subvert established institutional patterns and structures.

2. Major factors that contribute to the likelihood that collective behavior will occur are:

a. Structural factors that increase the chances of people responding in a particular way;

b. Timing;

c. A breakdown in social control mechanisms and a corresponding feeling of normlessness;

d. A common stimulus.

DYNAMICS: 

1.  People may engage in collective behavior when they find that their problems are not being solved through official channels; as the problem appears to grow worse, organizational responses become more defensive and obscure.

• Communication—quickly and easily, makes spontaneous behavior more likely.
• Gathered in same geographic location

2. People's attitudes are not always reflected in their political and social behavior.

• May say you believe in women’s rights on some survey/questionnaire, but don’t turn out on voting day to vote for candidates who also support women’s rights, etc.

3. People act collectively in ways they would not act singly due to:

a. The noise and activity around them (ie., the energy the crowd brings, like at a concert—much more exciting than by yourself.)

b. A belief that it is the only way to fight those with greater power and resources.

• Collective behavior reflects people’s joint response to some common influence or stimulus.

C. Distinctions Regarding Collective Behavior

1. people engaging in collective behavior

a. crowd a relatively large number of people who are in one another's immediate face-­to-­face presence; or

b. mass . Mass-a number of people who share an interest in a specific idea or issue but who are not in one another's immediate physical vicinity.

2. may be distinguished by the dominant

emotion expressed (e.g.,According to Lofland,  fear, hostility, joy.  Also grief, disgust, surprise, or shame).

D. Types of Crowd Behavior:

1. four categories of crowds (Blumer):

a. casual crowds

• Casual crowds-relatively large gatherings of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time; if they interact at all, it is only briefly.

b. conventional crowds

• Conventional crowds-people who come together for a scheduled event and thus share a common focus.

c. expressive crowds

• Expressive crowds-people releasing their pent-­up emotions in conjunction with others who experience similar emotions.

d. acting crowds

• Acting crowds-collectivities so intensely focused on a specific purpose or object that they may erupt into violent or destructive behavior. Examples:

(1) A mob-a highly emotional crowd whose members engage in, or are ready to engage in, violence against a specific target which may be a person, a category of people, or physical property.

(2) A riot-violent crowd behavior fueled by deep­-seated emotions but not directed at a specific target.  May be expressing joy, like after winning a sporting event (In Canada, after the Stanley Cup win, for example).

(3) A panic-a form of crowd behavior that occurs when a large number of people react with strong emotions and self­-destructive behavior to a real or perceived threat.

2. protest crowds (McPhail and Wohlstein)

• To these four types of crowds, Clark McPhail and Ronald T. Wohlstein added protest crowds-crowds that engage in activities intended to achieve specific political goals.
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a. civil disobedience

• non-violent action that seeks to change a policy or law by refusing to comply with it Strike, sit-ins, marches, etc).
• If become violent, may become acting crowd.

E. Explanations of Crowd Behavior

1. Contagion theory (Gustave Le Bon)

• According to contagion theory, people are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior in a crowd because they are anonymous and feel invulnerable; Gustave Le Bon argued that feelings of fear and hate are contagious in crowds because people experience a decline in personal responsibility.
• Crowd is transformed to single organism with collective mind.
• May be difficult to document collective mind, though.

2. Park’s social unrest and circular reaction

• According to Robert Park, social unrest is transmitted by a process of circular reaction-the interactive communication between persons in such a way that the discontent of one person is communicated to another who, in turn, reflects the discontent back to the first person.

3. Convergence theory

• Convergence theory focuses on the shared emotions, goals, and beliefs many people bring to crowd behavior.
• People may have predispositions to participate in certain types of activities.

a. From this perspective, people with similar attributes find a collectivity of like­minded persons with whom they can release their underlying personal tendencies.

b. Although people may reveal their "true selves" in crowds, their behavior is not irrational; it is highly predictable to those who share similar emotions or beliefs.

• EX:  Lynch mobs (participants were poor, working class whites who felt that their status was threatened by the presence of successful African Americans.
• Thus, their characteristics made them susceptible to joining a lynch mob even if they did not know the target of the lynching.

4. Emergent norm theory (Turner and

Killian)

--According to Ralph Turner's and Lewis Killian's emergent norm theory, crowds develop their own definition of the situation and establish norms for behavior that fits the occasion.

a. Emergent norms occur when people define a new situation as highly unusual or see a long­standing situation in a new light.

b. Emergent norm theory points out that crowds are not irrational; new norms are developed in a rational way to fit the needs of the immediate situation.

--This theory looks at how people in a given collectivity develop an understanding of what is going on, what type of norms are involved (Clapping quickly and independently versus booing only with others).

--May be permissive—that is, gives people right to disregard ordinary rules/norms: Mass looting, gang rape, etc.)

F. Mass Behavior

Mass behavior is collective behavior that takes place when people (who often are geographically separated from one anther) respond to the same event in much the same way. The most frequent types of mass behavior are:

1.  Rumors-unsubstantiated reports on an issue or subject-and

2.  Gossip-rumors about the personal lives of individuals.

3. Mass hysteria is a form of dispersed collective behavior that occurs when a large number of people react with strong emotions and self-­destructive behavior to a real or perceived threat; many sociologists believe this behavior is best described as a panic with a dispersed audience.

4.  Fads and Fashion:  Activity followed by large numbers of people, may be short-lived, versus longer-lasting style of behavior, thinking, or appearance (Also applies to art, music, drama, literature, architecture, interior design, automobiles, etc).

5. Public opinion consists of the attitudes and beliefs communicated by ordinary citizens to decision makers (as measured through polls and surveys based on interviews and questionnaires).

a. Even on a single topic, public opinion will vary widely based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, region of the country, urban or rural residence, social class, education level, gender, and age.

b. As the masses attempt to influence elites and visa versa, a two-­way process occurs with the dissemination of propaganda-information provided by individuals or groups that have a vested interest in furthering their own cause or damaging an opposing one.

II. SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

A. Social movement

A social movement is an organized group that acts consciously to promote or resist change through collective action.

--Threat to the social order

--Compared to Collective Behavior, Social Movements are

• Organized
• broad-based
• relatively long-term

--Gives those a voice who don’t normally have (Blacks in the civil rights mvt. and Women in women’s movement, labor movements and the working class).

Social Mvt. rely on volunteers--women have been strongly represented in grassroots movements.

B. Types of Social Movements

1. reform movements

Reform movements seek to improve society by changing some specific aspect of the social structure.

• Work within the system to attempt to change existing policy (labor, animal rights, MADD).

2. revolutionary movements

Revoluntionary movements seek to bring about a total change in society.

Usually don’t attempt to work within system—want to change the system with new institutions (range from utopian groups to radical terrorists).

a. terrorism

Terrorism is the calculated unlawful use of physical force or threats of violence against persons or property in order to intimidate or coerce a government, organization, or individual for the purpose of gaining some political, religious, economic or social objective (911, Oaklahoma City bombing, Kidnapping of Daniel Pearl, journalist).

3. religious movements

Religious movements seek to produce radical change in individuals and typically are based on spiritual or supernatural belief systems.

--(Hare Krishnas, Scientology—good for young people seeking meaning of life that mainstream religions can’t provide).

4. alternative movements

Alternative movements seek limited change in some aspect of people's behavior to have a better life, spiritual attainment, inner-peace (e.g., AA: a movement that attempts to get people to abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages, New Age Movements, vegetarianism, meditation, yoga, ).

5. resistance movements

Resistance movements seek to prevent or to undo change that already has occurred.

• Movements that oppose civil rights, affirmative action legislation, domestic partnership initiatives, Operation Rescue against women’s right to choose).

C. Stages in Social Movements

1. preliminary stage

• People become aware of problem, leaders emerge to agitate others into taking action.

2. coalescence stage

• People begin to organize and to publicize the problem.
• Here, some movements become formally organized at local and regional levels.

3. institutionalization stage

• An organizational structure develops, paid staff (rather than volunteers) leads the group, initial zeal may diminish here,
• Early supported may become disillusioned and drop out or start another movement that addresses a specific aspect related to the first (Like some national environmental organizations like the Sierra Club that strted as grass-roots conservation movement are viewed by some as being unresponsive to local environmental problems).

D. Causes of Social Movements:

1. Relative deprivation theory

• Related to people’s perceptions about how well they fair compared to others. 
• Do they have less than what they think they deserve?
• Relative deprivation theory asserts that people who suffer relative deprivation are likely to feel that a change is necessary and to join a social movement in order to bring about that change (Marx and ‘My house compared to yours’ analogy).
• But not all people that feel deprived join a social movement…

2. Value­-added theory (Neal Smelser)

• According to Neal Smelser's value­-added theory, six conditions are necessary and sufficient to produce social movements when they combine or interact in a particular situation:
• Each step in the process adds value to the final outcome

a. Structural conduciveness:  People must become aware of problem and have an opportunity to engage in collective action:

• Helps to know source of problem
• other channels for expressing grievances aren’t available
• when grieved can communicate

b. Structural strain :  When society or the community doesn’t meet people’s expectations of what they should have done.

c. Spread of a generalized belief :  Must be a clear statement of problem and a shared view of its cause, effects, and possible solution.

d. Precipitating factors :  To reinforce existing belief, an inciting incident or dramatic event must occur (Shooting of Martin Luther King).

e. Mobilization for action :  Leaders emerge to organize others and give them a sense of direction.

f. Social control factors :  If high level of social control on the part of law enforcement officials, political leaders, and others, it affects the development of a social movement.

3. Resource mobilization theory

• Resource mobilization theory focuses on the ability of a social movement to acquire resources (money, time and skills, access to the media, etc.) and mobilize people to advance the cause.
• Assistance from outsiders is important here (political and economic elites).

II. EMERGING PERSPECTIVES

• Diverse Actions
• Ideology
• Identity
• Material resources
• Goffman’s Frame Analysis: our interpretations of the particulars of events and activities is dependent on the framework from which we perceive them)
• Framing: In terms of what the problem is, possible solutions, and motives that compel people to take action.

III. SOCIAL CHANGE: MOVING INTO THE

TWENTY­-FIRST CENTURY

A. The physical environment and change

• The Physical Environment and Change: Changes in the physical environment often produce changes in the lives of people; in turn, people can make dramatic changes in the physical environment, over which we have only limited control (Ozone, rice in Japan, natural disasters like hurricanes, floods can kill entire population). 
• Humans contribute to the destruction (Ozone, flooding, driving cars that contribute to carbon dioxide in the environment which may lead to global warming)
• Must alter our lives to accommodate change…

B. Population and change

• Population and Change: Changes in population size, distribution, and composition affect the culture and social structure of a society and change the relationships among nations.
• Moving from central cities to suburban areas decreases tax base thus less money for schools and public services
• Diversity in schools demands programs to meet their needs
• Increase birth rateàneed for more child-care
• Increase in elderly population àneed for services such as medical care, Social Security.

C. Technology and change

• Advances in communication, transportation, science, and medicine have made significant changes in people's lives, especially in developed nations
• Automobile, airplane, computers, cloning, advances in medicine helping people to conceive…
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• However, these changes also have created the potential for conflict
• Ogburn’s ‘Cultural lag’ (non-material culture [ideology/values] versus material culture [technology]

D. Social institutions and change

• Social Institutions and Change: During the twentieth century, many changes occurred in the family, religion, education, the economy, and the political system that will follow us throughout  the twenty-­first century.
• Size and composition of family (nuclear, single-parent, single person households
• affects socialization of kids who may watch more TV, or more time in day-care
• As nature of economy changes, schools will have to change, partly to satisfy demands from leaders in business and industry for an educated work force that allows US companies to compete in a global economic environment.
• Political System experiencing change and upheaval: 
• Wars and “conflicts” with clever names
• Billions of dollars have been spent on armaments while other needs like health care, education, and housing have gone largely unmet for thousands of people.
• New concept of world security: Partly in light of terrorist attacks

--Changes in physical environment, population, technology, and social institutions operate together in a complex relationship with sometimes unanticipated consequences we must examine by using our sociological imagination…

(We need new ways of viewing life, at both the macro-level and the micro-level)

--Sociological imagination helps us think about how personal troubles—regardless of our race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, or physical abilities and disabilities—are intertwined with the public issues of our society and the global community of which we are a part.

RESOURCES

Websites:
Documents from the Women's Liberation Movement in the USA
Emma Goldman website
National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
Women and Social Movements in the USA
Code Pink: Women for Peace
Democracy Now!
National Women's Rights Resources and Organizations
History of the Women's Rights Movement
Women Who Changed the World
Margaret Sanger Papers Project
Nikki Craft: Political Activist

Books at the WCC Library:
The World Split Open: How the Modern Women's Movement Changed America, Ruth Rosen