Chapter 8- Textbook Flashcards
What is social change?
changes in the typical features of a society (e.g., norms and values) over time
ongoing and inevitable
What are collective behaviours?
behaviours that occur when people come together to achieve a meaningful short therm goal
What are social movements?
collections of people who are organized to bring about or resist social change
operate outside existing social power structures
What are some evidence of social change?
From what is considered deviant over time to the clothes we wear
When does social change occur?
modifications or adjustments to public policy, cultural traditions, or social institutions that are at times inspired by collective behaviours
When is social change most likely to occur (4 points)?
- the change originates within what are seen as cutting-edge sources
- the change addresses a strong felt need among the public
- the change is material rather than nonmaterial
- the change is broad compatible with people’s existing values
What is Prensky known for?
His concepts of digital natives and digital immigrants. He argues that the education system is ill-suited to the needs of today’s students
What are digital natives?
Prensky’s term for people who grew up with digital technologies
-“native speakers” of the digital language
What are digital immigrants?
Prensky’s term for people who grew up before digital technologies became commonplace
What is Prensky’s concern?
That since the school system is staffed by digital immigrants, students and teachers cannot understand each other because they respond to technology in very different ways.
What is the life cycle of social change?
Innovation: something new that inspires social change. Adopted by 10-25% of the population (mostly youth and upper-middle class)
Exponential growth: the adoption of a new technology or behaviour by the majority of the population
Saturation: the point at which a new technology or behaviour becomes a part of everyday living (enters a society’s traditions and normal daily practices)
What is Thorstein Veblen’s concept of vested interests?
Term to describe why privileged members of society resist change
Why do privileged members of society resist change?
Veblen argued that since many in the leisure class gain their wealth and social position not by personal actions or attributes but through inheritance, these people would resist any change as it might cost them their lives or privilege.
What are luddites?
a loosely bound group of displaced textile workers who destroyed the new machines that put them out of work in the early nineteenth century
-term now used to refer to someone who is resistant to new technology
How is technology defined and how is it an inspiration for social change?
- anything that provides an artificial means to achieve a given end or result
- builds on past discoveries and inspires a great deal of social change that similarly accumulates over time
How does your physical environment inspire social change?
- living through a cold Canadian winter is proof that people are able to adapt to a harsh physical environment in order to survive by altering their material culture
- diverse environments provide the inspiration for social change
How do demographic shifts inspire social change?
- growing population of healthy seniors resulted in changes to mandatory retirement legislation and greater public awareness of such issues as long-term-care requirements
- immigration and migration patters
- society needs to adjust to these people’s preferences and expectations
How does economic competition inspire social change?
- emergence of China and India as industrial powerhouses
- reordering of global capitalism
- dominant national economy continues to be the US
- competition inspires innovation and progressive social change, but it can also create very clear winners and losers
How does war inspire social change?
- warfare has always been a prime inspiration for technological development
- from gunpowder to nuclear weapons
- technologies developed for military application find their way into larger society
- US greater access to people’s private information in order to protect everyone
- US heavy use of drone warfare
How do ideas inspire social change?
- power of ideas to inspire change
- importance of Enlightenment ideals to human social development
- ideas such as free will, evolution, democracy, and freedom played an important role in social change
How do governments inspire social change?
- strong political leadership can mobilize large-scale efforts to alter the character of a society
- human rights legislation, health car reform, and environmental protection
How can individuals inspire social change?
- certain people inspire social change through their personality, charisma, and conviction
- some have diminished the value of human life while others have helped to make the world a better place
How do social movements inspire social change/
- emergence of grassroots movements, such as Greenpeace
- ordinary people come together to fight for or against something
- strong organizational capacity, a clear position on their grievances and goals, and active engagement with existing political power structures to facilitate the achievement of these goals
What are the 4 theoretical perceives on social change?
- functionalist
- conflict
- evolutionary
- cyclical
How do functionals view social change?
- more interested the forces that keep a society stable than those that change it
- Talcott parsons saw that change did occur through a process of differentiation
- emergence of a social problem indicates that the social system needs to make adjustments to regain a state of equilibrium
What is the functionalist approach to change guided by? Describe this.
- the equilibrium theory
- the assertion that a system’s natural state is one of balance and harmony
- changes in one part of society require changes in other parts in order for a society to return to its natural state of balance and harmony
- adjustments then actually help to maintain social stability
What do critics of the functionalist perspective point out?
- at times social changes amount to far more than a simple adjustment
- to argue that societies can be understood as organic entities that maintain equilibrium is also problematic in that it confers intent nd conscious action the the conceptual notion of society
How does conflict theory view social change?
- since the rich and powerful maintain their control over society to benefit their interests anything that challenges the status quo will be resisted
- consider conflict as inevitable and necessary to inspire social change that will ultimately rid the world of equality
What did Marx accept about social change?
a broad evolutionary path along with societies evolve. He did not believe that each was necessarily an improvement over the earlier form. Societies that moved through states defined by the exploitation of the poor.
What is Marx’s final stage?
True equality is possible only in the final stage of social development: communism
How did Marx view social change?
as coming about through active revolt against oppression and exploitation
What is the critique of the conflict theory towards social change?
less able to explain long-term stability and change that can occur without conflict
What is evolutionary theory? (describe Comte, Durkheim, Spencer)
Darwin’s theory of genetic evolution to explain how societies change over time
Comte: societies evolving from the theological and metaphysical stages to ultimately arrive at the scientific or positive stage
Durkheim: over time, societies become more complex
Spencer: society was similar to a living organism with interrelated and interdependent parts that would to achieve a common end
In short, they proposed what are referred to as unilinear and universal evolutionary theories
What are unilinear evolutionary theories?
the assertion that there is only one path through which an organism or society can evolve
What are universal evolutionary theories?
The assertion that all societies must progress in the same manner
What is neoevolutionary theory?
Lenski’s analysis of the role that technology plays in people’s adjustment to the physical world
-argues that social change is multilinear, continuous, and fluid
What would all evolutionists agree on?
That all societies have some internal drive that inspires them to adapt to he environment better so that they can compete more effectively for survival
What are the criticisms of evolutionary theory?
- no evidence to suggest that all traditional societies were alike
- there does not appear to be a fixed set of stages through which they pass
- underlying assumption to a societies progress over time, defining process is difficult
What is cyclical theory?
the idea behind cyclical theory is that social change occurs in a way similar to the changing seasons throughout the year
-does not argue that social change occurs in a defined direction, but instead, that there is an ebb and flow through time according to a series of endless cycles
According to Sorokin, what is the most influential elements of culture? How does each civilization emerge?
- the elements that relate to people’s inner experiences–ideas, passions, and emotions
- emerges rom a state of chaos with a coherent set of spiritual believes that give it strength and purpose
What id ideational culture?
Sorokin’s term for a society driven to seek and achieve spiritual goals
What is sensate culture?
Sorokin’s term for a society that interpret the social and physical world through the sense.
How does Sorokin believe that social change occurred over time?
By moving back and forth between the two opposite cultures. As a society moves in one direction, the attraction of the opposing force becomes stronger until the society reverses course
What are the critiques for cyclical theory?
changes, such as technological innovations, appear to grow upon each other, and thus imply a direction of increasing complexity
When does collective behaviour occur?
when people come together to achieve a single and meaningful short-term goal that may inspire social change
What is collectivity?
a substantial number of people who going together on the basis of loosely defined norms
- little solidarity
- last only a short while
- no defined boundaries
- recognize few leaders
- display only a basic division of labour between members
What are localized collectivities?
collectivities in which the members are located in each other’s immediate physical presents
What are dispersed collectivities?
Collectivities in which the members are in different places t the same time
What are the 9 types of localized collectivities?
- crowds
- casual crowd
- conventional crowd
- expressive crowd
- acting crowd
- mob
- flash mob
- riot
- protest crowd
What are crowds?
an organized collection of people who gather temporarily for a particular cause
- united by a common mood
- Hubert Blumer identified four basic types of crowds
What is a casual crowd?
a chance collection of individuals in the same location at the same time
-lack any formal leadership or structure and is the simplest and most rudimentary form of collective behaviour
What is a conventional crowd?
a collection of people who gather for a structured social event
-generally behave in ways that are appropriate to the given activity
What are expressive crowds?
a collection of people who gather intentionally to express their emotions
What is an acting crowd?
a collection of people who gather to express anger and direct it outwardly at a specific person, category of people, or event
What is a mob?
a crowd that gathers to achieve and emotionally driven goal
What is a flash mob?
a planned gathering of large numbers of people for a brief and predetermined period of time
What is a riot?
a type of acting crowd that directs its anger toward multiple targets, moving from one to another in unpredictable ways
-can last for days with participants diapering and grouping in response to the actions of the agents of social change
What are protest crowds?
a deliberately assembled crowd to rally support for a social movement
What are the five types of dispersed collectivities?
- rumour
- mass hysteria
- disaster behaviour
- fashion, fads, and crazes
- publics
What is a rumour?
specific information passed from person to person that lack reliable evidence
- most likely to occur when people face ambiguous situations and desperately want accurate information even though none is available
- spread rapidly
What are the two types o rumours?
Gossip: intimate and personal communication meant to be entertaining
Urban legend: a short, persistent, non verifiable tale with an ironic or supernatural twist
What is mass hysteria?
occurs when people react to a real or imagine event with irrational or frantic fear
What are disasters?
an unexpected event that causes extensive damage to people, animals, and property
What is disaster behaviour?
after a disaster, people are often to left to manage they everyday needs under extraordinary circumstances
-large disasters can result in a breakdown of traditional sociopolitical guidelines that can leave people feeling overwhelmed, demoralized, and depressed
What does fashion refer to?
a social pattern that outwardly expresses an individual’s identity as being “with it”
-a social pattern that appeals to a large number of people
What is a fad?
a short-lived but enthusiastically embraced new cultural element
What is a craze?
a widespread emotional connection to a cultural phenomenon
What is a public?
An accumulation of people have a defined political interest for meeting and who are organized by a common good but are not necessarily in direct contact with other members.
-intended to establish a new norm, law, policy, or practice that would guide people’s behaviour and actions
What are the three primary theories that attempt to explain the influence of a group on an individual?
- contagion theory
- convergence theory
- emergent norm theory
What is contagion theory?
- Gustave le bon
- people behave differently when they are in groups than when they are alone
- group exerts a powerful influence on he individual
- individual loses his or he conscious personality and has it replaced by an uncivilized and potentially barbaric “collective mind”
What complementary factors are required for the collective mind to emerge?
- anonymity
- suggestibility
- contagion
What does convergence theory argue?
that the group is not the source of negative, irrational behaviour but instead that such behaviour appeals to a particular type of person.
- when like-minded people converge they are more likely to manifest the type of behaviour they are looking for in the first place
- asserts that the actions the group are an expression if its members’ own desires for types of behaviours they are willing to seek out
- helps explain why some people take part in actions while in a group that they would not do on their own
What is emergent norm theory?
- symbolic interactionist approach
- aggressive or anti-social behaviours are viewed as resulting from an adjustment to new norms that emerge within a given group and in certain situations
- individuals turn to others for cues on how to behave
- the new norms are the result of ongoing interaction between members of the group
- those who follow the new norms stay with the groups while those who do not choose to do so generally leave the group
How does emergent norm theory view crowd behaviour?
the groups’s actions are influenced by existing norms and values but are open to new norms should the group believe they are necessary
What are the four characteristics of those who participate in social movements?
1) they have a shared common identity
2) they act at least partly outside of traditional political institutions and use protests as one of their primary forms of action
3) they rely on noninstitutionalized networks of interaction
4) they reject or challenge dominant forms of power
What are informal social movements?
a social movement that emerges to challenge a specific local issue
what are formal social movements?
a large, well-integrated, and established organization with bureaucratic procedures
- do not operate within a society’s existing power structures
- may lobby these structures to further their own interests
- well-integrated within society
- known to the public
- mainstay a regular media coverage
What are the criteria that social movements are classified according to?
1) level of change
2) direction of change (some are seen s progressive and others wish to resists or reverse current trends)
3) speed of change (some seek immediate change while others work for gradual change)
4) target of change (some focus on individual behaviours while others are interested in society-wide change)
What are revolutionary movements?
are the most extreme form of social change because they seek a complete reorganization of society
- typically emerge when previous efforts to bring about change have failed
- can be both peaceful and violent
What are reformist movements?
a social movement that works with the existing social structure to improve society
What are reactionary movements?
A social movement that emerges when groups resist an event or decision they eel they cannot tolerate
- often the intent of these movements is to reverse the direction they feel society is travelling in and return to an earlier time
- appeal to people who are uncomfortable with the way things currently are and fear what the future might hold
What are religious movements?
A social movement grounded in a spiritual or supernatural belief system
-likely to emerge as a reaction to the effects of modernization
What is the life-cycle of social movements?
1) emergence/incipience
2) coalescence
3) bureaucratization/institutionalization
4) decline
What is the emergence/incipience of social movements?
- the movement is unorganized and does not have clear leadership or direction
- segment of society feels dissatisfied or disillusioned with the current state of affairs
What is the coalescence of social movements?
- begins to define itself and develop a strategy to achieve its goals
- movements gains some momentum
- attract new members
- establish a formal organization
- develop strategy and coordinate public demonstrations
- media attention so they can communicate their concerns to the larger society
- may form alliances with other groups that share similar perspectives
What is the bureaucratization/institutionalization of social movements?
- incorporate some bureaucratic organization to manage its affairs
- hiring a paid staff
- establishing a formal hierarchy of paid leaders
- full-time office space
- increasing pressure to attract donations and grants to ensure that employees and operating expenses are paid
- increasingly respectable
What is the decline of social movements/
-themovement collapses from internal or external pressures
What must be achieved for a social movement to qualify as a success?
- must have its recommendations implemented by those in positions of authority
- referred to an an interest groups
What is an interest group?
an established lobby group that works within the system to promote change
What are the most common reasons for a social movement’s decline?
fragmentation of ideas, power struggles among its leaders, or the loss of the original charismatic leader
What is the relative deprivation theory approach to social movements?
Suggests that the origin of many social movements resides in the discontent of those who are dissatisfied with their present condition
-feelings of deprivation can also rise when groups perceive that they are not being treated fairly
What is the mass society theory to social movements?
- suggests that the forces of industrialization and urbanization as well as the sheer size and pace of our world are diminishing our ties to those around us
- people are left feeling alienated, vulnerable to manipulation by elites, and prone to extremist social movements
- people who feel isolated are attracted to social movements as a way of connecting with others and gaining a sense of importance and belonging
What are the 6 conditions to value-added theory?
1) structural conduciveness (people can identify who or what is responsible for social problems, clear rage for their action, focus their efforts)
2) structural strain (society can no longer meet people’s expectations and little appears to have been done to fix the problem)
3) growth an spread of generalized belief (clear statement of the causes of and solutions to a given problem)
4) precipitating incident (frustrationmust simmer for years until a specific incident occurs that galvanizes the need for immediate and collective action)
5) mobilization for action (readiness to take action that can involve demonstration and rallies)
6) social control (involvement of society’s formal control agents)
What does Smelser’s value-added theory provide?
a valuable explanation of the conditions necessary for social movements to occur
What is the resource mobilization theory to social movements?
Resource mobilization theory investigates how members of social movements father ands resources to meet their needs. To be success, all social movements must secure money, time, and assistance from outside agencies, politicians, and media
-successful movements are those that can effectively acquire and manage these key resources
What is the political process theory?
- the political process theory emphasizes the dynamic relationships between social movement organizations and the larger economic and political reality in which they operate
- examines systemic factors that either encourage or discourage movement activism, success, and failure
- some government are open to change, while others seem to resist it at all costs
What are the two clearest findings related to political process theory?
1) that movements emerge more readily in democratic societies
2) weak government are especially vulnerable to pressure from activists
What is new social movement theory to social movements?
- originated during the social uprisings of the 1960s
- distinctly North American approach
- holds that forms of action are motivated by collective identity found in the culture, ideology, and politics of post-industrial society
- defining feature is that they are more globally focused
- resonate with people around the world
- inspired by middle-class interests
