SOCI 3006 – Collective Behaviour July 2006 Review #2

SOCI 3006 – Collective BehaviourJuly 2006Review #2

1. Administrative

•all materials for test are on website

• password for website is cjrocks

2. General Categories of Collective Behaviour

“Collective behaviour may be defined as those forms of social behaviour in which usual conventions cease to guide social action and people collectively transcend, bypass or subvert established institutional patterns and structures” (Turner and Killian, 1987)

(a)Violent/Destructive Collective Behaviour

• mass suicides – usually, hysterical beliefs form the basis, strong group pressures to conform to belief structures, group practices (but do they attract particular personality dispositions?) – Heaven’s Gate group in 1997, Jonestown, Guyana in 1977)


• mob violence – normally non-violent people attacking people or property with the goal of destroying, injuring, killing – may be organized or unorganized

lynchings Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY

• Riots – sudden outbreaks, often a ‘venting’ of collective emotion – can be deadly and destructive, or ‘celebration’riots

hockey riots Christie Pits 1933 May Day celebrations in Akron, Ohio, 1994 Chicago Bulls, 1997 riot


• mob violence – normally non-violent people attacking people or property with the goal of destroying, injuring, killing – may be organized or unorganized

lynchings Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY

• Riots – sudden outbreaks, often a ‘venting’ of collective emotion – can be deadly and destructive, or ‘celebration’riots

hockey riots Christie Pits 1933 May Day celebrations in Akron, Ohio, 1994 Chicago Bulls, 1997 riot


(b) Consumers and Collective Behaviour

• crazes and panics – crazes are usually motivated by financialgain - the Beer Can collecting craze in the 1970’s; Western gear in Japan; chain letters; Elmo; Barbie – panics are motivated by fear, often of financial loss – likethe crash of 1929; Nortel

• fads – the desire to possess, not necessarily for profit – often created by marketers, mass media – dance fads, toy fads (Davey Crocket), game fads (Trivial Pursuit; Monopoly) –on the whole, harmless activities


(c) Hysterias

• rumors – a piece of information that is not or cannot be verified – often spreading rapidly during periods of anxiety/concern, in the absence of other more reliableinformation – Mcdonald’s worm-burgers, Colgate/Palmolive,summer camp rumours

• physical hysteria – a physiological manifestation of collective behaviour – the June Bug phenomenon in 1962; release of the film The Exorcist

• millenarian groups – belief in the world coming to an endon a given date – either utopian vision or apocalyptic(catastrophic) vision – Miller and the Millerites, 1831


(c) Hysterias

• sightings and miracles – religious apparitions (Fatima; SabanaGrande; Thomson, Man.) – also UFO sightings (Rozwell)

4. Deadly Riots – the Los Angeles Riot of 1992

1965 – the Watts riot – the most deadly, destructive riot until Miami, 1980

1992 – the Los Angeles riot tops the list in terms of destruction, death

“a riot is a violent and emotional social disruption”

may be destruction of property, injuries, death

note the Plymouth/Massachusetts Bay Colony riot of 1634

the most violent riots of the 20th century generally stemming from issues of race, social class (note p. 110 of text)

4. Deadly Riots – the Los Angeles Riot of 1992 (cont’d)

the 1992 L.A. riot also known as the ‘Rodney King’ riot

text uses Smelser’s value-added theory to analyze riots

riot resulted in 51 deaths; 2, 383 injuries; $1 billion in damages, over 700 businesses burned over a three-day long period of rioting, burning, looting, violence, shooting

25 square block area of the city was devastated

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/04/28/la.riot.anniversary


the L.A. riot exploded after the verdict was announced in the Rodney King case

March 3, 1991 – King pursued in high-speed car chase by L.A. police officers – ‘Tasered’, but did not succumb to the weapon – subsequently beaten with batons (56 times hit) causing multiple fractures, nerve damage, broken ankle, etc.

George Holliday, living in an apartment overlooking the incident, filmed it

http://www.seeingisbelieving.ca/handicam/king/

Holliday’s tape shown over and over again on national news

http://www.seeingisbelieving.ca/handicam/king/


despite calls for him to step down, L.A. Police Chief Daryl Gates refused

four officers involved in beating tried beginning March, 1992 in a changed venue, Ventura County (98% white)

April 29, 1992 – verdict in – hung verdict on one count against officer Laurence Powell, not guilty on all other charges

immediately following verdict outrage in Black, Hispanic communities in particular – quickly erupted into destruction of property, then violence – by the next day, 2400 National Guard troops brought in, curfews implemented

Blacks did not account for the majority of rioters


ANALYSIS

structural conduciveness – outrage against courts, system of justice, failure to punish officers involved – lack of available legitimate channel to express their outrage – communication among the aggrieved parties, combined with other factors, including densely populated urban core streets, warm weather, availability of weapons, businesses to loot, vandalize

structural strain – perception of ongoing racism in justice system – history of past riots, shootings of Blacks, tension between Black/Hispanic communities, poor community relations between police and citizens, excessive force allegations, then the Rodney King incident


ANALYSIS

generalized belief – belief among Blacks, Hispanics, others that justice cannot be had for them – media edited tape selectively – naturally, most members of the public assumed the officers would be convicted – Mayor Bradley’s statements further supported belief that ‘system had failed’

mobilization of participants – note that no rioting itself occurred in Ventura County – but rather, South-Central L.A., with violence directed first at authority symbols, then at convenient, ‘safe’ targets – note role of media here in a leadership role, directing rioters, unintentionally(?) urging them on


ANALYSIS

social control – L.A. police underestimated reaction to verdict (note Gates at a fund-raiser) – poor planning, coordinated, intelligence, tension between Mayor and Chief of Police, not enough officers on duty even to begin to handle situation – question? – what have police learned since the L.A. riots?


ANALYSIS

classification of participants – (from Turner and Killian)

ego-involved (the most personally ‘engaged’ and ‘invested’ in the outcome of the verdict) concerned (not so invested, but possibly helpful to the rioters, generally supportive) insecure (those just ‘along for the ride’ because they want to be part of it, but not really invested at all) spectators (lots of these in the L.A. riots) ego-detached exploiters (L.A. riots literally taken over by these – the looters, targets changed from authority symbols to businesses, and ransacking these)

SOCI 3006 – Collective BehaviourJuly 2006Lecture 8

1. Administrative

• hand back midterm

• supplementary test – Thursday, July 20, 2006 • supplementary test – 20 multiple choice/true-false

• supplementary test worth 10 marks

• essays due Thursday, July 20

• all materials for test are on website


2. Images, Miracles and Apparitions

• a common form of collective behaviour

• generally take place in a public, secular setting, despite their often religious nature (note Durkheim on sacred/profane)

• Images-belief in the spontaneous appearance of a religious figure on an everyday object

-e.g. - the face of Jesus on a grilled cheese sandwich; Jesus and other figures observed on walls, automobile body parts; frying pans; windows, storage tanks, etc.

-all follow a similar pattern; some individual notices the image, interprets it as the likeness of a religious figure, interprets this as some form of miracle, tells friends, who may then tell others

-

2. Images, Miracles and Apparitions (cont’d)

•Images- interest/belief in images usually relatively short-term

- those who believe in the image accept that it is caused by a mundane event (rust, stains, lighting, etc.) but believe that these things have been somehow manipulated by a divine force to show the image

- accessibility by large crowds a key factor

• Miracles-tangible physical objects that ‘miraculously’ move, or cry, drip blood, etc.

-miracles often more denomination-specific, less plausible to general public, more likely to occur indoors


•Miracles- usually belief/non-belief straightforward – either the statue of the Virgin is bleeding, or it is not, or at least not real blood

-usually requires predisposition to believe (religious)

•Apparitions - involve the miraculous appearance of a figure – religious,

ghosts, angels, famous people – but unlike images and miracles, the apparition if most often visible to only one or a handful of people

- may involve claims from some individuals that they are able to communicate with the apparition

- why so many apparitions involve young girls?


•The Soybean Savior – Jesus on an Oil Tank

- Fostoria, Ohio, 1986

- Locher analyzes incident using Smelser’s value-added theory

-structural conduciveness (religious Christian community, rural, image was easily viewed from cars, August was nice weather in evenings, vacation time, image appeared just off the most traveled road in town)

- structural strain (high crime rate, hard economic times, very hot, dry weather)


•The Soybean Savior – Jesus on an Oil Tank

- generalized belief (devout believers, devout skeptics, doubting participants, nonbelievers)

- mobilization of participants (local people strongly urged others to take a look; the media got involved (August 1986 a slow news time), religious leaders

-social control – local authorities unable to deter onlookers, so managed, facilitated orderly viewing

note: how important a single individual’s ‘definition of the situation’ was in creating, shaping events

what caused this event to end?


•Our Lady of Clearwater

- Clearwater, Florida, 1996 – 2001

- again, use of Smelser’s value-added theory

- also, use of Turner and Killian’s types of crowd participants (ego-involved, concerned, insecure, spectators, exploiters)

3. Rumours, Urban Myths and Urban Legends

• a rumour is an unconfirmed statement or fact passed through informal communication

• often rumours arise in situations of anxiety/uncertainty, where individuals will seek any sort of information to make sense of what is happening

• tellers may repeat rumours out of a feeling of ‘being in the know’ or feeling powerful – status, attention, to create excitement

• believers consider the information plausible and accept it as fact

• rumours often serve to confirm what believers already suspect or want to believe is true

3. Rumours, Urban Myths and Urban Legends (cont’d)

• urban legends are a form of rumour told as a story (the bathtub legend, or the Eddie Murphy legend; the Hippie girl and the baby in the oven)

• urban myths are a form of rumour told in regard to a specific ‘fact’ (cocaine in Coca Cola; tooth in Coca-Cola; the myth of babies sacrificed by Satanic Cults – Geraldo Rivera)

• the Proctor and Gamble rumour – and analysis using the emergent norm theory


• uncertainty and the ‘rumour public’ – belief that ‘something is wrong with the country’ and this ‘Satanism’ promoted by a large corporation could be it

• urgency – if something not done quickly, the devil would take over but note as well poor economy at the time

• communication of mood and imagery – the circular reaction among the rumour public – the role of the church newsletters and direct-mail flyers (also, eventually, Am-Way)

• constraint – in particular, among religious congregations fueled by their Ministers


• selective individual suggestibility – polarization of beliefs, leading to spread of acceptance of rumour by those already selectively likely to accept (religious groups)

• permissiveness – free to discuss, share concerns, different versions, ‘takes’ on the rumour, openly

note: why do we accept rumours when we suspect/know they are false?


1. Administrative

• all materials up to Lecture 8 are on website


2. Fads

• fads appear quickly, and disappear just as quickly

• may be related to physical activities (mini-golf, dances)

• fads may re-surface periodically (skateboarding; roller skating/blading, skipping)

• activity fads - centre on leisure-type activities like dances, physical activities (phone-booth or VW stuffing), often heavily promoted in mass media

• useful product fads - K-Tel products; the ‘silver bullet’; gasoline additives; backyard vinyl swimming pools

2. Fads

• frivolous product fads – Pet Rocks; plastic flamingo lawn ornaments

3. Crazes

• different than fads, involve the purchase, investment in something in order to make a profit

• need to be distinguished from legitimate, real increase in commodities, stocks – in the case of crazes, speculation usually in terms of things that have little or no use value

• often the ‘craze’ commodities become value-less overnight

• e.g. – the Florida land craze; Alaska gold-rush; buried treasure

4. Toy Fads

• the ‘hot’ Christmas toy

• Tickle-me-Elmo, Beanie Babies, Furby Frenzy, X-Box, GI Joe, Cabbage Patch Dolls, etc.

• in rush to acquire the toy, collective violence can erupt, financial speculation, etc.

• note – how the toy fad can actually lead to increased social interaction, milling, communication, etc.

• uncertainty – often, created by toy manufacturer, media as a way of boosting sales, selling out product

• urgency – there is only a limited number, and a limited time frame in which to get the product – importance here of media, rumours, creating a sense of panic

4. Toy Fads

• communication of mood and imagery – note importance here of milling behaviour, depictions of this in media, rumour networks, stores creating circumstances, line-ups increasing communication of a sense of uncertainty, urgency

• constraint – both normative influence and informational influence – feeling that, maybe the others who you see doing this know something you don’t know

• selective individual suggestibility – the tendency for crowd members to ‘selectively’ attend to, integrate information, behaviour that confirms/conforms to the new emerging norms

• permissiveness – the sense that behaviours, attitudes normally unacceptable are okay in this new situation (e.g. pushing, shoving, lying)

4. Toy Fads (cont’d)

• classification of participants – ego-involved (parents, grandparents, relatives), concerned (those attempting to get a toy for someone else), insecure (getting a toy for the sake of saying you got one), spectators (shoppers, the general public, media), ego-detached exploiters (counterfeiters, bootleggers, pirates, scalpers)

note: to what extent do fads represent a desire to possess a status position, as defined by social norms (the good parent)

5. Millennialism

• what happened to the dire predictions for the year 2000? the Y2K Apocalypse?

• note that much of the concern began with the potential inability of older computers to handle the four digits required to distinguish the year 2000 from the number 00 – a potential problem in being able to accurately calculate dates, billing, many statistics, etc. – predictions that, for example, the Shuttle would be lost in space, computer networks would grind to halt

• many alarmist writers, commentators predicted some sort of modern day apocalypse – cars would stop running, infrastructure would crumble, chaos would result, ATMs would stop working, bank accounts could disappear, etc.

• brisk business in Y2K survival guides

5. Millennialism

• unfortunately, cooler, calmer heads and scientists were dismissed as being ‘head in the sand’ fools – and were rarely heard from in the press

• differing levels of fear, concern, preparation in response to Y2K – everything from ignoring it, to stocking up on cash, gas, water to retreating with guns, etc. in cabins in the remote wilderness to live ‘off the grid’ until the world returned to normal

• hardcore believers in the Y2K apocalypse took several forms: the “end of the world as we know it” types, the Christian millenarians, the “Luddite survivalists”

• softcore believers – no apocalypse, but brownouts, blackouts, at the extreme but unlikely, meltdown

5. Millennialism

• the cautious and worried – panic, get ready just in case

• Y2K skeptics – minor problems, faith in science and human ingenuity, we’ll get through this somehow

• the official government position – leaning toward hysteria – advising keep on hand a three-day supply of food and water in their homes – but as the actual date approached, calmer heads prevailed

The Chain of Beliefs – the domino effect; civil disorder andrioting in the streets; ‘foreigners’ and terrorism; fear itself of what was to come would create chaos without any precipitating event; the predominance of rumour and the role here of the mainstream media

5. Millennialism

• Y2K, the “Prophets’ and the “Profits’ – make hay while the sun shines – what role did they play in promoting panic in a self-fulfilling prophecy?

note: what actually happened on January 1, 2000?

• reactions to the ‘Great Disappointment’

• analysis – emergent norm theory, value-added theory and the individualist perspective (also sociocybernetic theory)

• the definition of the situation and its importance


1. Administrative

• all materials on website


2. Social Movements

• a social movement is created when a group of people organize in an attempt to encourage or resist some kind of social change

• goal is usual to achieve some kind of political influence or political power

• social movements composed of ‘ordinary people’

2. Social Movements (cont’d)

• social movements are usually made up of a number of different organizations (e.g. the environmental preservation movement – Greenpeace, Greens, Sierra Club, etc.) – also, feminist movement, Gay Rights movement

• some debate over social movements are another form of collective behaviour, or a distinct form of ‘collective action’ in society


• like other forms of collective behaviour, social movements do represent group forms of ‘deviant’ or non-institutionalized behaviour (e.g. passive resistance; protests; boycotts; petitions), and emergent norm phenomena take place, social strain is released, etc.


• unlike other forms of collective behaviour social movements are:

1. organized – there is a division of labour, use of resources, conscious decision to be a part of a social movement, to devote time, possibly money2. deliberate – there are clear goals, plans to achieve these, fund-raising, membership drives, publicity planning, etc.3. enduring – social movements are long-lasting, with the goal of having their agenda become institutionalized, as in the form of a bureaucratic organization (e.g. Nader’s Raiders)


• types of social movements

1. alternative social movements – designed to create change in the way people think or behaviour in relation to a specific issue (e.g. DARE; animal rights movement)

2. redemptive social movements – want to create a change, but only in some individual’s lives (e.g. – Christian fundamentalist missionaries; Jehovah’s Witnesses)

3. reformative social movements – desire is to create change on a broad scale, in an entire community or society – both progressive (MADD; Gay Rights; suffrage) and reactionary or countermovement (Ku Klux Klan; the Weathermen; DAMM).


• types of social movements

4. revolutionary social movements – goal is to completely destroy the old social order and replace it with a new order (e.g. American/French revolution; IRA; Russian Revolution, FLQ, etc.)


• resistance to social movements – usually resistance strongest from those who stand to lose the most if the social movement is successful (e.g. gasoline engine manufacturers; automobile manufacturers lobbying against mass transit; anti-Kyoto movement)

1. ridicule – can attempt to portray either movement followers, or those in power as stupid, uninformed, selfish – through use of cartoons, advertising, in mass media – note the John Kerry incident


2. co-opting – can take some component of the social movement and bring it over to the opposing side – for example, by (a) making up a name for the opposing side that sounds very similar to that of the social movement (e.g. the Greener Earth Society coalition of electricity and utility companies) and (b) hiring way the social movement’s leadership – the example of Candy Lightner, founder of MADD being hired by the American Beverage Institute; also, promotion into management of union leadership


3. formal social control – in the form of legitimate force used to control demonstrations, ensure public order; in the use of law and local ordinances/bylaws to control, hinder, harass those involved in the social movement; and finally, through the use of violence – as in use of violence by police during civil rights movement; by pro-life movement; by Ku Klux Klan; killing of Chinese dissidents in Tiananmen Square


• why social movements are important – because they are an important source of social change in society – for example, the Feminist Movement; Gun Control; Gay Rights; ‘Child Savers’; Prohibition; MADD; Suffrage; Civil Rights; anti-war movements; universal health care; etc.

• social movements are an important source of political representation in democratic societies, a form of ‘grass roots’ political power, of new ideas

3. Social Movement Theories

• can apply Turner and Killian, or Smelser here as well – but there is another set of theories designed specifically to explain how social movements develop and function

A. Mass Society Theory (Kornhauser, 1959)

• the ‘mass society’ creates or spawns mass movements which are essentially anti-democratic, driven by the ‘herd’ instinct

• ‘mass movements’ are popular movements that operate outside of and against the social order (e.g. Fascism, Nazism)

3. Social Movement Theories (cont’d)

• characteristics of mass society:

1. atomization – in a mass society, people are alienated from one another, feel powerless, lack a sense of purpose – which makes them vulnerable to engage in any behaviour or movement that gives them a sense of purpose, belonging

2. access – in a mass society, citizens have too much access and direct control over leaders, forcing leaders to follow the whims of the populace if they want to stay in power, catering to the preferences of the crowd – as a result, leadership becomes irrational


• characteristics of mass society:

3. availability – in a mass society, the citizens are likewise too available, too easily influenced by leaders, who can sway large segments of the population through appeal to emotions, prejudices, etc. - making it easy to ‘whip up’ or ‘galvanize’ large groups quickly and easily

4. intermediate groups – in a mass society, there is a lack of ‘intermediate groups’ through which the individual can become involved in society, can have some political influence, appreciate alternate points of view (e.g. school parent groups; service clubs, Ducks Unlimited, etc.) – in mass society, individuals have few associations outside of the family and state-run, operated organizations (e.g. Communist party)


• mass movements are spawned by mass societies – massmovements are extreme in their goals, and may be violent and irrational in their methods of achieving goals

• characteristics of mass movements:

(a) pay more attention to national and international events than to local issues(b) favour activism over diplomacy – take direct action(c) unstable and fickle membership(d) organized around clear purpose and goals(e) independent thought, debate discouraged(f) behave like a herd(g) tend to arise during times of social crisis


• mass societies and mass movements also characterized by cultural legitimacy (tendency for everyone to want the same things, behave the same way, think the same thoughts) and psychological factors that make individuals more susceptible to be highly suggestible, easily manipulated and led (alienation, lack of self-esteem, lack of a sense of purpose)

• problem with Kornhauser’s mass society theory is that it really only applies to one type of social movement – the large scale, reactionary, destructive movements like Fascism, Nazism, McCarthyism ,etc.


B. Relative Deprivation Theory (Denton Morrison, 1971)

• ‘relative deprivation’ a term introduced by Samuel Stoufferand Robert K. Merton – a situation where a person believesthey have less than they deserve

• absolute deprivation – not having enough food to eat, water, clothing shelter such that if these basic needs not met, survival is threatened

• relative deprivation – not having as nice a cottage as the rest of the couples who are your friends, so you feel let down, deprived in comparison to them

• Durkheim – human beings have no satiation point for socialrecognition rewards, status


B. Relative Deprivation Theory (Denton Morrison, 1971)

• ‘relative deprivation’ a term introduced by Samuel Stoufferand Robert K. Merton – a situation where a person believesthey have less than they deserve

• absolute deprivation – not having enough food to eat, water, clothing shelter such that if these basic needs not met, survival is threatened

• relative deprivation – not having as nice a cottage as the rest of the couples who are your friends, so you feel let down, deprived in comparison to them – them being your ‘reference group’


• Durkheim – human beings have no satiation point for socialrecognition rewards, status

• Morrison – two kinds of deprivation that can help to drive social movements

– ‘decremental deprivation’ (where opportunities for success have been reduced or blocked, through

no fault of the individual, as in an economic recession/depression)

- “aspirational deprivation’ (where people’s aspirationsand expectations rise, but their opportunities do not)

- decremental deprivation tends to lead to conservative,right-wing social movements; aspirational deprivationleads to liberal, leftist social movements


• Morrison – the key to understanding why relative deprivationis such a motivating factor is in the concept of ‘legitimate expectations’ – it is that people believe they have a right to expect something, and that they deserve it – e.g.,the StatsCan poverty index and the issue of computers

• where legitimate expectations are blocked, this forms the the basis for discontent, and social strain – people experience ‘cognitive dissonance’, a split between what theywant and believe they deserve, and what they have – where enough people experience this, and can communicate withone another, this fosters the growth of a social movement


• Morrison – ‘cognitive dissonance’ and growing discontent over unmet expectations can be resolved in oneof four ways:

- people can blame themselves for the failure- people by psychologically discount the blockage- people can change their situation- people can blame the system, and band together to

change it


• Morrison social movements most likely to develop then when:

(a) a large segment of the population is experiencing the the relative deprivation

(b) there is close proximity, interaction, communication among those affected

(c) there is high ‘role and status commonality’ – the people experiencing the deprivation are similar to one another

(d) the society has a rigid and obvious social stratification system

(e) high presence of voluntary association activity in the society (promotes interaction, political organization)


C. Resource Mobilization Theory – Oberschall (1973), McCarthy and Zald, 1977)

• focus on the political, economic factors underlying development, functioning of social movements

• it is the organization and leadership that make/break social movements

• ‘mobilization’ – the process of forming crowds, groups, associations, and organizations for the pursuit of collective goals


• a social movement refers to the presence of beliefs in a population that support social change (or in the caseof countermovements, that oppose change)

• a social movement organization (SMO) is a complex or formal organization that attempts to carry out the beliefsof a social movement or countermovement (e.g. NAACP; Sierra Club)


• adherents – individuals and groups that believe in the goals of the movement

• conscience adherents – individuals who believe in the goalsof the movement, even though they will not personally benefit

• constituents – adherents who actually provide resourcesto the movement (time, money, labor, materials)

• conscience constituents – people who help out SMO’s even though they have nothing to gain

• bystander publics – outsiders who don’t care about the\movement

• free-riders – bystanders who stand to benefit

• opponents – those who try to block the movement


• resources – these can be material (money, equipment, officespace, etc.) or non-material (political influence, moral support, etc.)

• success or failure rides on leadfership and organization of resources – organizing membership, resources, ensuringcommitment to goals, making sacrifices, overcoming resistance

• leaders focus on mobilization, ‘manufacturing discontent’ ,tactical decisions, and ensuring infrastructure for success is in place


• the most successful social movements are those that develop out of existing, established social organizations

• ‘professional social movement organizations’ are made up of individuals that are professional reformers pursuing a career in reform causes – for example, the full-time staff at Green Peace – they tend to move from cause to cause as professionals – theyare experts in mobilizing resources through use of media, direct mail campaigns, etc.


• goals – successful social movement organizations manage to convince a majority in society that the goals of the organizationare worthy, and need to be addressed (e.g. the Civil Rightsmovement) - this may require use of mass media, public sympathy campaigns (MADD)

• success also rides on:(1) turning free-riders into contributors(2) overcoming organized opposition(3) acquiring, mobilizing, managing resources(4) use of focal points(5) acceptance and ultimately institutionalization of the movement


• note the controversial political connotations of resource mobilization theory, in particular with respect to the civil rightsmovement


D. Political Process Theory (McAdam, 1982)

• focus on the factors that allow ordinary citizens to formtheir own social movements

• critical of resource mobilization theory as being elitist

• three factors responsible for success of social movements:

1. organizational strength 2. cognitive liberation (perception of the odds of success)3. political opportunities (allies)


• McAdam – social movements are really political movements, as they are really about power – rational attempts by ordinarypeople to influence the political process to make social changehappen

• the capacity to gain political influence is affected by:

- the open-ness of the political system- the stability of the status quo- the presence of allies among the status quo- state capacity for repression

Documents

SOCI 3006 – Collective Behaviour July 2006 Review #2