Ch. 21: Social Movements and Social Change

expressive crowds

crowds who share opportunities to express emotions

revolutionary movements

movements that seek to completely change every aspect of society

NGO

nongovernmental organizations working globally for numerous humanitarian and environmental causes

resistance movements

those who seek to prevent or undo change to the social structure

21.3 Social Change

There are numerous and varied causes of social change. Four common causes, as recognized by social scientists, are technology, social institutions, population, and the environment. All four of these areas can impact when and how society changes. And they are all interrelated: a change in one area can lead to changes throughout. Modernization is a typical result of social change. Modernization refers to the process of increased differentiation and specialization within a society, particularly around its industry and infrastructure. While this assumes that more modern societies are better, there has been significant pushback on this western-centric view that all peripheral and semi-peripheral countries should aspire to be like North America and Western Europe.

social movement

a purposeful organized group hoping to work toward a common social goal

21.1 Collective Behavior

Collective behavior is noninstitutionalized activity in which several people voluntarily engage. There are three different forms of collective behavior: crowd, mass, and public. There are three main theories on collective behavior. The first, the emergent-norm perspective, emphasizes the importance of social norms in crowd behavior. The next, the value-added theory, is a functionalist perspective that states that several preconditions must be in place for collective behavior to occur. Finally the assembling perspective focuses on collective action rather than collective behavior, addressing the processes associated with crowd behavior and the lifecycle and various categories of gatherings.

21.2 Social movements

Social movements are purposeful, organized groups, either with the goal of pushing toward change, giving political voice to those without it, or gathering for some other common purpose. Social movements intersect with environmental changes, technological innovations, and other external factors to create social change. There are a myriad of catalysts that create social movements, and the reasons that people join are as varied as the participants themselves. Sociologists look at both the macro- and microanalytical reasons that social movements occur, take root, and ultimately succeed or fail.

motivational training

a call to action

flash mob

a large group of people who gather together in a spontaneous activity that lasts a limited amount of time

collective behavior

a non-institutionalized activity in which several people voluntarily engage (pop culture, trensds such as rush hour- activity that is not mandated)

emergent norm theory

a perspective that emphasizes the importance of social norms in crowd behavior

mass

a relatively large group with a common interest, even if they may not be in close proximity

assembling perspective

a theory that credits individuals in crowds as behaving as rational thinkers and views crowds as engaging in purposeful behavior and collective action

resource mobilization theory

a theory that explains social movements' success in terms of their ability to acquire resources and mobilize individuals

public

an unorganized, relatively diffuse group of people who share ideas

reform movements

movements that seek to change something specific about the social structure

religious/redemptive movements

movements that work to promote inner change or spiritual growth in individuals

conventional crowd

people who come together for a scheduled event (think concert/ mob)

casual crowds

people who share close proximity without really interacting (ex: at a mall)

alternative movements

social movements that limit themselves to self-improvement changes in individuals

prognostic framing

social movements that state a clear solution and a means of implementation (last part of frame alignment process)

social change

the change in a society created through social movements as well as through external factors like environmental shifts or technological innovations

social movement sector

the multiple social movement industries in a society, even if they have widely varying constituents and goals

crowdsourcing

the process of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people

crowd

a failry large number of people who share close proximity

value-added theory

a functionalist perspective theory that posits that several preconditions must be in place for collective behavior to occur

social movement organization

a single social movement group

diagnostic framing

a social problem that is stated in a clear, easily understood manner (first part of frame alignment process)

new social movement theory

a theory that attempts to explain the proliferation of postindustrial and postmodern movements that are difficult to understand using traditional social movement theories

acting crowds

crowds of people who are focused on a specific action or goal

social movement industry

the collection of the social movement organizations that are striving toward similar goals

modernization

the process that increases the amount of specialization and differentiation of structure in societies

frame alignment process

using bridging, amplification, extension, and transformation as an ongoing and intentional means of recruiting participants to a movement