final- social movements and collective behavior

Question 1

resource mobilization theory

Answer 1

• treats social movements in economic terms as organizations or businesses
• an SMO is subject to market forces
• the need to acquire resources changes the social movement itself. it can motivate certain messages, goals, or demands and constrain others, depending on how each affects the acquisition of resources
• the new primary goal of the SMO may not be the demand/change, but to continue to exist as an SMO. especially true if the fight is long

Question 2

political opportunity theory

Answer 2

• describes why social movements emerge when they do and/or engage in specific strategies or activities
• when an already aggrieved set of individuals recognize that political conditions are right for their desired change
• Ex: Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights movement both came at the “right” time culturally and politically

Question 3

network theories

Answer 3

• focuses on the importance of social networks for a successful social movement and uses network methods for studying them

Question 4

define the purity paradox

Answer 4

• a maximally effective SMO (social movement organization) must make ideological concessions to acquire support and resources. too many

Question 5

define framing in social psych

Answer 5

• discursive and cultural framing: social movements must carefully construct/frame their messages
• a well framed message does this:
• identifies a concrete grievance
• establishes what is being discussed and what isn’t.
• creating shared meanings among people with the same grievance
• offers solution to the grievance through meeting of concrete demands

Question 6

What were Rachel Best’s findings regarding disease advocacy activism?

Answer 6

• resource acquisition shapes movements
• activism around health increasingly focused on specific diseases instead of larger issues of public health
• government and corporate support tends to give money only to “safe” (politically/culturally uncontroversial) diseases (breast cancer over COPD funding)
• many diseases that would make the greatest impact on public health go under-funded while “appealing” diseases are highly funded