Social Change and Social Movements

Question 1

What are 6 reasons/factors that predict collective behavior from happening or being obstructed? and who came up with these reasons?

Answer 1

– Neil Smellser

• • structural condusiveness
• • structural strain
• • spread of generalized belief that something has to be done –> related to an event
• • precipitating factors
• • mobilizing resources (esp. pertinent for social movements)
• • social control

Question 2

What is structural condusiveness?

Answer 2

• • something about structure that makes collective behavior from happening or not happening
• • fluidity/exchange of information

Question 3

What is structural strain?

Answer 3

• • factor that can promote or obstruct collective behavior
• • what is your situation compared to structure
• • when strain exists structurally, this increases likelihood of collective behavior

Question 4

What are precipitating factors?

Answer 4

• • the event itself
  • -> doesn’t mean the issue wasn’t going on beforehand
    - -> ex: George Floyd murder
    - -> ex: the police raid was the precipitating factor of Stone Wall Riot
• -> usually collective action following precipitating factors are protests

Question 5

What is social control?

Answer 5

– obstructor of collective behavior

ex: a curfew –> less likely to be a continuation of collective behavior; tear gas, arrests, dogs, censorship or propaganda

–> social control isn’t always from officials there can be counter movements

Question 6

T or F, promoting or resisting social change is goal of social movement

Answer 6

True

Question 7

What are the different types of social movements?

Answer 7

• • alternative social movement
• • redemptive social movement
• • reformative social movement
• • resistant social movement
• • revolutionary social movement

Question 8

What is an alternative social movement?

Answer 8

• • when we seek a specific realm of change for a specific group of ppl
    ex: AA alcoholics anonymous

Question 9

What is a redemptive social movement?

Answer 9

• • focus on a specific group and the change is for all aspects not a specific realm
    ex: born again christians

Question 10

What is a reformative social movement?

Answer 10

• • asking for one realm of change and everybody must be onboard
• • has to be major overhaul

Question 11

what is a resistant social movement?

Answer 11

• • countermovement
• • pushing back against social change
    ex: All Lives Matter

Question 12

What is a revolutionary social movement?

Answer 12

– a complete overhaul of whole system for everybody

Question 13

What are the major theories for why social movements happen?

Answer 13

• • mass society theory
• • relative depravation theory
• • resource mobilization theory
• • new social movements theory

Question 14

What is mass society theory?

Answer 14

• • psychological explanation
• • identity and belonging to a group
• • will join social movements when they want a sense of belonging or identity

ex: student union

– further solidifies identity surrounding specific characteristics

Question 15

What is relative deprivation theory?

Answer 15

• • your sense of what you should have comes from looking at what other people have
• • subtheory: rising expectations theory
  —-> when you’re brought to a rising hope that some things going to change

Question 16

What is resource mobilization theory?

Answer 16

• • being able to get off the ground w/ key resources

- - more resources = social movement has more luck

Question 17

What is new social movements theory?

Answer 17

– focuses on how more and more social movements have people who don;t have direct sort of link to the change being advocated for

ex: allies of movement

Question 18

What are the 4 diff stages of social movements?

Answer 18

• • Step 1: emergence –> ppl start to become aware of problem
• • Step 2: organization –> first phases of resource mobilization
• • Step 3: institutionalization –> more well oiled machine
• • Step 4: decline

Question 19

What are 5 possibilities of the decline of social movements?

Answer 19

1. becomes a regular part of society
   ex: MAD (mothers against drunk driving)
2. Cooptation: some members coopt original intent of movement or how the movement operates or does things; sometimes intentional or unintentional, sometimes innocent or sinister
3. Distraction: members become distracted from new stories happening
4. Fragmentation: internal disagreement; diff. opinions of what goals should be
5. repression

Question 20

T or F, almost no social change happens w/o social movements

Answer 20

True; social movements can change @ diff levels