Chapter 17: Collective Behavior and Social Movements

Collective behavior includes all different types of groups interacting with each other. This is important in sociology for sociology is all about the interactions of people. So collective behavior and all that is associated with it is very important to sociology as well as to a society.

Collective behavior is the relativity spontaneous social behavior that occurs when people try to develop common solutions to unclear situations. A collectivity is a gathering of people who have limited interaction with one another and do not share clearly defined, conventional norms or a sense of group unity. A crowd is a temporary gathering of people who are in close enough proximity to interact. A mob is an emotionally charged collectivity whose members are united by a specific destructive or violent goal. A riot is a collection of people who erupt into generalized destructive behavior, the result of which is social disorder. A panic is a spomoral panic occurs when people become fearful about behavior that appears to threaten society's core values. Mass hysteria is an unfounded anxiety shared by people who can be scattered over a wide geographic area. Fashions refer to enthusiastic attachments among large numbers of people for particular styles of appearance or behavior. A fad is an unconventional object, action, or idea that a large number of people are attached to for a very short period of time. A rumor is an unverified piece of information that is spread rapidly from one person to another. Urban legends are stories that teach a lesson and seem realistic but are untrue. The term public refers to a group of geographically scattered people who are concerned with or engaged in a particular issue. Public opinion refers to the collection of differing attitudes that members of a public have about a particular issue. Propaganda is an organized and deliberate attempt to shape public opinion. According to the contagion theory, the hypnotic power of a crowd encourages people to give up their individuality to the stronger pull of the group. According to emergent-norm theory, the people in a crowd are often faced with a situation in which traditional norms of behavior do not apply. According to the value-added theory, collective behavior had six basic preconditions: structural conduciveness, structural strain, growth and spread of generalized belief, precipitating factors, mobilization for action, and social control.

ntaneous and uncoordinated group action to escape some perceived threat. A

Social movements are much more deliberate and long-lasting forms of collective behavior. The main goal of reactionary movements is to reverse current social trends. Most conservative movements try to protect what they see as society's prevailing values from change that they consider to be a threat to those values. The goal of revisionary movements is to improve some part of society through social change. The main goal of revolutionary movements is a total and radical change of the existing social structure. There is a life cycle of social movements, starting with agitation, then comes legitimation, then bureaucratization, it then ends with institutionalization. Relative-deprivation theory, people join social movements because they feel deprived relative to other people or groups with whom they identify. Resource mobilization is the organization and effective use of resources. According to resource-mobilization theory, not even the most ill-treated group with the most just cause will be able to bring about change without resources.

As we saw, collective behavior is very important. We also saw that social movements are important as well. Social movements are important for they add to a growing society and even promote already grown societies. In some cases, social movements can create damage to the government but may be beneficial to the people.