Chapter 17 Social Change and Collective Behavior

1. Chapter 17Social Change and Collective Behavior Section 1 Social Change

2. Defining Social Change • A. Social Change: new societal behaviors with important long-term • consequences • B. Speed of Social Change • 1. In scheme of human history very fast • 2. In human life span very slow • C. Predicting Social Change • 1. Difficult to predict change • 2. Nature of existing • 3. Change does not just happen – society decides • D. Nature of society impacts rate of change • Social Processes • A. Social process: series of steps leading to change on a societal level • B. Discovery: process by which something is learned or reinterpreted • C. Invention: the creation of something new from previously existing • items or processes • 1. Pace of change through invention tied to complexity of society • 2. Greater number of items more ways and faster change

3. D. Diffusion: process by which one culture or society borrows from • another culture or society • 1. Rate of diffusion depends on rate of social contact • 2. Borrowing may be entire society to society or group to • group within societies • 3. Before wide acceptance a borrowed item must • harmonize with existing group culture • 4. May involve using only one part of borrowed item • 5. In modern society most aspects of culture are • borrowed not created • Technology • A. Technology: knowledge and tools used to achieve practical goals • B. Importance of technology • 1. Technology is a prime promoter of social change • 2. Ever increasing speed of change • Population • A. Changing demographics are another important factor for creating • social change

4. The Natural Environment • A. Interaction with natural environment transformed American life • B. Historical events/natural disasters transform and shape society • Revolution and War • A. Revolution: sudden and complete overthrow of a social or political • order • 1. Often accompanied by violence • 2. Expectation that revolution will bring about fundamental change • B. After revolution tend to revert to more familiar customs and • behavior • C. New social order created is a compromise between new and old • D. War: organized armed conflict that occurs within a society or • between nations • 1. Social change created through diffusion because barriers are • broken down during war • 2. Wars also promote invention an discovery

5. Section 2Theoretical Perspective on Social Change • Functionalist Perspective A. Functionalism emphasizes social stability and continuity but there is a functionalist theory of social change B. Equilibrium: a state of functioning and balance, maintained by a society’s tendency to make small adjustments to change 1. Society in change moves from stability to temporary instability and back to stability 2. AKA dynamic or moving equilibrium • Conflict Perspective A. Social change is the result o struggles among groups for scarce resources (Karl Marx) 1. Social change is created as these struggle are resolved 2. Social change come from a multitude of competing groups 3. Without conflict there is no progress

6. B. Ralf Dahrendorf borrows from Marx • 1. Quest for power is source of social change • 2. Conflict among groups at all levels of society • 3. Groups are political, economic, religious, racial, ethnic, or gender • based • Symbolic Interactionism • A. Interaction with others on the basis of commonly shared symbols • B. Urbanism: the distinctive way of life shared by the people living in a • city • 1. Shift in way of life with shift from rural life to urban society • 2. Life more varied in urban setting

7. Section 3Collective Behavior • Defining Collective Behavior A. Collective behavior: the spontaneous behavior of a group of people responding to similar stimuli B. Collectivity: collection of people who do not normally interact and who do not share clearly defined norms C. Study of collective behavior is large problem 1. Change from studying structured to unplanned behavior 2. Below surface may be more structure and rationality than appears D. Dispersed collectivity: collectivity made up of people who are not physically connected but who follow common rules or respond to common stimuli • Rumors, Legends, Fads and Fashion A. Rumors: a widely circulating piece of information that is not verified as being true or false 1. Spread by people about events or others of interest to themselves 2. Exploited by mass media

8. B. Urban legends: a moralistic tale which focuses on current concerns and • fears of the city or suburb dweller • 1. Allows warning against risky behavior • 2. Permit us to play out hidden fears and guilt feelings • C. Fad: an unusual behavior pattern that spreads rapidly and disappears quickly • 1. Popularity rest on its novelty • 2. Embraced zealously but only for a short time • D. Fashion: a widely accepted behavior pattern that changes periodically • 1. Most often in items that involve personal appearance • 2. Slang in a language based on fashion • Mass Hysteria and Panics • A. Mass hysteria: collective anxiety created by the acceptance of one or more • false beliefs • B. Panic: reaction to a real threat in fearful, anxious, and often self-damaging • ways

9. Crowds • A. Crowd: a temporary collection of people who share an immediate • common interest • B. Types of crowds • 1. Casual crowd: least organized, least emotional and most • temporary • 2. Conventional crowds: has a specific purpose and follows • accepted norms for appropriate behavior • 3. Expressive crowds: have no significant or long-term purpose • beyond unleashing emotion-free expression of emotion • 3. Acting crowds: takes some action toward a target; concentrates • intensely on some objective and engages in aggressive behavior • C. Mob: emotional crowd ready to use violence for a specific purpose • 1. Knows what it wants to do and considers all other things a • distraction • 2. Have a long and violent history • D. Riots: episode of largely random destruction and violence carried • out by a crowd • 1. Lack mob’s sense of common purpose • 2. Violence at targets because they are convient

10. Theories of Crowd Behavior • A. Contagion theory: theory stating that members of crowds stimulate • each other to higher and higher levels of emotion and irrational • behavior • B. Emergent norm theory: theory stating that norms develop to guide • crowd behavior • C. Convergence theory: theory that states that crowds are formed by • people who deliberately congregate with like-minded others

11. Section 4 • Social Movements • Nature of Social Movements • A. Social movement: movement whose goal is to promote or prevent • social change; the most structured and rational form of collective • behavior • 1. Characteristics • a. Large number of people • b. Common goal to promote or prevent social change • c. Structured organization with recognized leaders • d. Activity sustained over a relatively long time period • 2. Exampled by American Revolution, abolitionism, suffragette • B. Social movements are started to stimulate change but may oppose • change

12. Primary Types of Social Movements • A. Revolutionary movement: a social movement that attempts to • change the total structure of society • B. Reformative movement: a social movement that attempts to make • limited changes in society • C. Redemptive movement: a social movement which seeks to change • people completely • D. Alternative movement: a social movement that focuses on bringing • about limited changes in people • Theories of Social Movements • A. Value-added theory: theory holding that certain conditions must • exist for social movements to occur • 1. Characterized by defined steps that contribute to total • 2. Six conditions must exist • a. Structural conduciveness: environment must be social • movement friendly • b. Structural strains: must have the presence of conflict, • ambiguities and discrepancies within a society

13. c. Generalized beliefs: recognition that there is a problem and agreement that something should be done to fix it d. Precipitating factors: one or more significant events must occur to galvanized people into action e. Mobilization of participant for action: once the first four exist must get the people moving f. Social control: must be ineffective social control by media, police, courts, community and political leaders B. Resource mobilization theory: theory of social movement that focuses on the use of resources to achieve goals