Collective Behaviour, Social Movements, and Social Change Chapter Twenty

The Question What would you do if you believed that injustice was being committed? If something you fundamentally believed in was being destroyed? What actions would you take? What power do you think you have? What is your moral responsibility? Would you go out of your way to make your community better for others?

man in tiananmen square 1989

Buddhist monk protest South Vietnamese governments prohibition of Buddhists religious practices 1963

Outline Collective Behaviour Social Movements Social Movement Theories Social Change in the Future

Collective Behaviour Conditions for Collective Behaviour Dynamics of Collective Behaviour Distinctions Types of Crowd Behaviour Explanations of Crowd Behaviour Mass Behaviour

Collective Behaviour Defined: Voluntary, often spontaneous activity that is engaged in by a large number of people and typically violates dominant group norms and values Contrast to organizational behaviour Examples: social protests against social problems

Conditions for Collective Behaviour Collectivity: a relatively large number of people who mutually transcend, bypass, or subvert established institutional patterns and structures Conditions: Timing Breakdown in social control mechanism Structural factors that increase likelihood of a type of response

Factors of the Likelihood of Collective Behaviour Structural Factors Likelihood of Collective Behaviour Timing Break down of social Control

Dynamics of Collective Behaviour Acting outside of established norms Need of immediate communication Attitudes: individual tend to have attitudes about something but do not do anything about it Why collectively and not individually? Strength in numbers

Distinctions Crowds Defined: a relatively large number of people who are in one another’s immediate vicinity Masses Defined: a large number of people who share an interest in a specific idea or issue but are not in one another’s immediate vicinity

Types of Crowd Behaviour Expressive and Acting Crowds Expressive: Come together to express a strong emotions Acting: intense and violent Mob: a highly emotional crowd who are violent against a person, groups or places Riot: violent crowds with no target Panic: when people react to a real or perceived threat Casual and Conventional Causal: large; happen to be in one place at one time Conventional: those who come together for a scheduled event Protest Not violent; may take the form of civil disobedience (Martin Luther King Jr)

Theories of Crowd Behaviour Contagion Theory Social unrest and circular reaction Convergence Theory Emergent Norm Theory

Contagion Theory Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931) people feel vulnerable and, with anonymity, the crowd transforms people from being rational to being irrational and with a common mind You will do things in a crowd that you would never deem appropriate to do on your own

Social unrest and circular reaction Robert Parks wanted to understand how are traditional cultural rules broken by Crowd Behaviour? Social unrest is transmitted by a process of circular reaction—discontent is passed to others and then returns again from whence it began

Convergence theory the shared emotions, goals, and beliefs many people bring to crowd behaviour. These shared elements bring people together Applied to lynch mobs and environmental protests

Emergent Norm Theory The vitality of social norms in shaping crowd behaviour The behaviour is not purely random and irrational Example: the Los Angeles riots of 1992 purposively targeted Korean businesses Meaning and norms are redefined by the crowd.

Mass Behaviour Defined: a collective behaviour that takes place when people respond to the same event in much the same way (e.g., a rock concert) even though they may be geographically separated. Types: Rumours Gossip Mass hysteria Public opinion Fashions Fads Propaganda

Mass Behaviour Rumours Unsubstantiated reports on an issue or subject Gossip Refers to rumours about the personal lives of others Mass hysteria Dispersed collective behaviour that occurs when a large number of people react with strong emotions and self-destructive behaviour

Mass Behaviour Fads Temporary but widely copied activity enthusiastically followed by large numbers of people. Short term. Fashions Currently valued style of behaviour, thinking or appearance Pierre Bourdieu believes fashion is one-way individuals can express their class differences

Mass Behaviour Propaganda Public Opinion Political attitudes and beliefs communicated by ordinary citizens to decision makers. Where are political decisions made at the Tim Horton’s or in the Standing Committees by the Elite? Propaganda Information provided by individuals or groups that have a vested interest in furthering their own cause or damaging an opposing one Power of Persuasion

Social Movements Defined: an organized group that acts consciously to promote or resist change through collective action Elements: More likely in democracies Help excluded groups into political processes Rely on volunteers

Types of Social Movements Reform Revolutionary Religious Alternative Resistance

Reform Movements Movements that seek to improve society Work within existing structures Work to change public policy Examples: labour movements, animal rights MADD Mothers Against Drunk Driving http://www.madd.org/activism/

Revolutionary Movements Hope to bring about a total change in society French(1789), American (1779), or Russian Revolutions (1917) The Ithaca Buck an attempt to challenge the global capitalist system Terrorism– calculated unlawful use of physical force or threats of violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, organization, or individual for the purpose of gaining some political, religious, economic or social objective

Religious Movements Inner change focus Liberation Theology: stresses the role of political action and oriented itself toward the goal of political liberation from poverty and oppression. Sister Geraldine-Rossbrook House The Social Gospel movement was a prominent Protestant movement in the late 19th-20th century that attempted to apply Christian principles to social problems. Salvation Army

Alternative Movements To seek limited change in some aspects of people’s lives or behaviours Example: The Women’s Christian Temperance Union to prevent the use of alcohol Vegetarianism and the organic food movements

Resistance Movements Seek to prevent change Example: the Pro Life Movement to protect the rights of the unborn http://www.family.org/

Stages in Social Movements Preliminary stage - wide spread unrest, becoming aware of a problem Coalescence stage – getting organized to publicize a problem Institutionalization stage – organizational structure develops.

Social Movement Theories Relative Deprivation Value-Added Resource Mobilization Social Constructionist New Social Movement

Relative Deprivation Theme: people are not satisfied with their present condition They may feel when they compare their achievement with those of similarly situated persons and find that they have less than what they deserve

Value-Added Certain conditions must be met for the development of a social movement each step in the production process adds something to the finished product 1) Structural conduciveness 2) Structural strain 3) Spread of generalized belief 4) Precipitating factors 5) Mobilization for action 6) Social control factors

Resource Mobilization Members of a social movement gather, trade, use, and occasionally waste resources such as: money, members’ time, access to the media, property and equipment. Social movements do not just exist because of widespread unrest but because there are organizations existing that make it possible to express social displeasure.

Social Constructionist A version of symbolic interactionism Frame analysis from Goffman Goal: to try to isolate some of the basic frameworks of understanding available in our society for making sense out of events and to analyze the special vulnerabilities to which these frame of reference are subject (Goffman)

Social Constructionist Applied to a social movement: A grievance needs to be present Then, these ways of framing it are created: 1) Diagnostic framing 2) Prognostic framing 3) Motivational framing 4) Frame alignment

Frame alignment Framing the social issue is important to create a link between individual interest and the social movement. Frame bridging Frame amplification Frame extension Frame transformation

New Social Movement Theme: scholars look at a diverse array of collective actions and the manner in which these actions are based on politics, ideology, and culture Elements: Personal identity, race, class, gender and sexuality

New Social Movement Ecofeminism- feminists that are concerns with the environment and believe that environmental neglect and abuse is implicit in the patriarchal capitalist business model. Environmental racism —the belief that a disproportionate number of hazardous facilities are placed in low-income areas populated primarily by people of colour

Social Change in the Future Other factors besides collective behaviour and social movements contribute to change. They include: The Physical Environment Population Technology Social Institutions

Social Change in the Future Other factors besides collective behaviour and social movements contribute to change. They include: The Physical Environment Population Technology Social Institutions

References The Tank Man Producer: Anthony Thomas, Cutting Edge 2006 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2300254722104314948&q=man+in+tiananmen+square&hl=en World Changing http://www.worldchanging.com/ Power of Persuasion Nation Achieves (U.S.) http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_intro.html

Questions What is the most significant social change that has affected your life? Explain how this social change happened. Explain the difference between relative depravation and resource mobilization theory. What factors can influence crowd behaviour? Explain the stages of social movements give examples of movements that you believe are at the different stages and why? Give an example of each type of social movement.