Social movements are considered as groups with a purpose that are well organized and working together towards a common goal, in an attempt to influence or resist social change or to provide a voice for the disenfranchised (Little, 2014). Change is constantly taking place throughout the world, it is the concern of social scientist to find out who is responsible for this social change and why and how it takes place. The answers to these questions have been investigated by social scientists, such as Gustave Le Bon, who developed theories to provide explanations through his work, an example of which is “The Crowd”. We will examine Le Bon’s theory along with other theories relating to this phenomenon and the collective behavior of groups that contribute …show more content…
Such behavior is not always present but arises to address problems with social instability, which is continuous throughout the world. Collective behavior is also a means of communication. It is used to overcome communication blockage or to show resistance to a change in power (Smelser, 2018). When a group is formed and engages in behavior that is considered either deviant or acceptable their actions usually send a message of either support or resistance and size of the group allows the message to be heard, whereas an individual’s perspective may have otherwise gone unnoticed. Smelser identified several necessary conditions for the expression of collective behavior, social structure must be accommodating to the behavior, strain must be experienced by the group, there must be a collective interpretation of the situation, the behavior must be triggered by an event, the group must take action and interaction needs to take place between the group and agents of social control (Smelser, 2018). For social change to be attempted a group of people needs to agree that there is a situation that needs changing and decide to take action against it, this usually occurs when the group or members of the group experience strain or dissatisfaction with an aspect of society and decide to take action to …show more content…
The emergent-norm theorists believe that crowds are not impulsive, uncontrolled or irrational but rather they develop and adhere to norms that fit their situation (Little, 2014). Instead of considering crowd behavior as deviant it can be viewed as necessary to address the current situation experienced, which at times may not adhere to the existing norms of the society. However, these norms can be fluctuating, thereby shaping the behavior of the crowd at that particular time, but they can be easily changed based on external factors (Little, 2014). This theory focuses on the individual experience of society and how their changing experiences will influence their behavior and commitment to a group. Turner and Killian believes that when a person is faced with a new or strange situation they form bonds with others and participating in antisocial, collective behavior that may be interpreted differently by persons outside of the group as compared to how they will rationalize their behavior (Little, 2014). What a person in the group may see as necessary for their survival, others outside of the group may see as detrimental or abnormal but when they circumstances surrounding the norms of the group changes then the bonds of the group may become weak and less appealing to the
Additionally, a social movement’s ideology or their “belief-disbelief system” is “fluid” and open to change, unlike a small collective with a rigid set of principles. The main principle of acquiring justice is consistent, but beliefs are subject to change. The Civil Rights Movement is a textbook example of a “fluid” movement, consisting of swaying beliefs and strategies to combat racial injustice. The original strategy of the movement was to simply shame America through boycotting and the exposure of injustice, but the movement soon realized this strategy was not enough.
Throughout history, social movements have continuously formed because of a person who had the courage to stand up against the injustice they witnessed in every day live. When I was a child, I remember feeling as if it takes a superhero-like person to start a social movement. However, I have found that through the use of social media today, any person with a passion for making a change can spark a social movement. Social movements are a powerful way to help people believe that their voice matters and they should stand up for what they believe in. Before the advancement of technology, it took a lot longer for social movements to become prominent in society’s media outlets because of the difficulties of not having enough time in one’s life to
(Turner and Killian 1987) cited in (Diani 1992, p. 4) define social movements as a “collectivity acting with some continuity to promote or resist a change in the society or organisation of which it is part. As a collectivity a movement is a group with indefinite and shifting membership and with leadership whose position is determined more by informal response of adherents than by formal procedures for legitimizing authority”. Turner and Killian regard a social movement as a peculiar kind of collective behavior that is contrasted to regularity and institutional behavior. Additionally, Turner believes that social movements do not necessarily coincide with movement organisations, although these organisations can carry out a large part of the movement tasks and it is often help to control and speak for movements (Diani 1992).
Topics explored with this group included; conversational skills, internet safety, bullying, conflict resolution, social media, and personal appearance. Accordingly, I was able to gain insight on how to plan activities tailored to the needs of the group as well as obtain tips on conducting groups effectively. Additionally, I was able to get a sense of the group dynamics, attain knowledge on the stages of a group through observing all the individuals belonging to the group, their uniqueness and how their personality impacted the group itself. Individuals were able to join the group at different stages hence; the forming stage was repeated each time a new member was recruited. This also provided me with the opportunity of gaining first-hand experience of the interaction on the basic dynamics on group stages of forming, norming, storming and
The avoidance group is people who we want to distance ourselves from. The author states that the reason we do this is because we want our behavior to be like the group wants us to be, and if anybody disagrees we stay away from them. The final group is We like to do it in groups. The first point is Phenomenon Deindividuation. Phenomenon Deindividuation is where a individual indentities becomes lost with in a group. The second point is Group shopping. Group shopping and behavior and home shoppong parties: People more likely to buy more when shopping in a group, where pressure to crnform may be intense (bandwagon effect). The reason we do this is because if we dont buy what everyone else is buying then we can become a outcast. The last part of the story is Conformity. Conformity is a change in beliefs or actions as a reaction to real or imagined group. The norms of conformity are unspoken rules that grovern many aspects of consumption. There are five factors that influence of conformity. They are: Cultural Pressures, Fear Of Deviance, Commitment, Group Unanimity, Size, and Expertise and finally Susceptibility to Interpersonal
There are eight symptoms of groupthink. The first symptom is when all or most of the group view themselves as invincible which causes them to make decisions that may be risky. The group has an enormous amount of confidence and authority in their decisions as well as in themselves. They see themselves collectively better in all ways than any other group and they believe the event will go well not because of what it is, but because they are involved. The second symptom is the belief of the group that they are moral and upstanding, which leads the group to ignore the ethical or moral consequences of the decisions. The group engages in a total overestimation of its morality. There is never any question that the group is not doing the right thing, they just act. The disregarding of information or warnings that may lead to changes in past policy is the third symptom. Even if there is considerable evidence against their standpoint, they see no problems with their plan. Stereotyping of enemy leaders or others as weak or stupid is the fourth symptom. This symptom leads to close-mindedness to other individuals and their opinions. The fifth symptom is the self-censorship of an individual causing him to overlook his doubts. A group member basically keeps his mouth shut so the group can continue in harmony. Symptom number six refers to the illusion of unanimity; going along with the majority, and the assumption that silence signifies consent. Sometimes a group member who questions the rightness of the goals is pressured by others into concurring or agreeing, this is symptom number seven. The last symptom is the members that set themselves up as a buffer to protect the group from adverse information that may destroy their shared contentment regarding the group’s ...
According to Toseland and Rivas (2005), group dynamics are “the forces that result from the interactions of group members” (p. 64). These forces refer to either the negative or positive influences towards meeting members’ socioemotional needs as well as goal attainment within a group (Toseland & Rivas, 2005), like within my class work group experience. Some of dynamics that continue to emerge and develop in my group is the effective interaction patterns and strong group cohesion, which has generated positive outcomes and group achievement thus far.
Socioemotional Selective Theory The socioemotional selective theory focuses on the temporal cortex’s that focus on how goals are developed (Carstensen & Mikels, 2005). Generally when individuals are young this is the phase where one emphasis on setting goals for the future. Throughout the aging process the focus changes to the primary focus on emotional meaning of the aspect of life, and gaining an emotional intimate social relationship (Carstensen & Mikels, 2005).
There is a wide collection of definitions of what social movements are. Social movements generally are one of the fundamental social forms through which a number of organized and coordinated people work together to support a social goal, usually a change in the society’s values or structure, or to bring about social change. Social movements can be different sizes, but they are basically collective, they usually involve people who come together spontaneously sharing a common view of the society. They are sustained campaigns through which the people of democratic societies raise awareness of the different concerns about the welfare, rights and the well being of everyone. The collectives give voice to these concerns by engaging in public protest
Social control normally refers to societal and political mechanisms or processes that regulate individual and group behavior, leading to conformity and compliance to the rules of a given society, state, or social group. This is a concept inside the teachings of the social sciences. Sociologists named two known forms of social control. For example the formal means of social control is the external sanctions enforced by government to prevent the establishment of destruction or anomie in society. The theory of it says people that engage in criminal activity when their bond to society has gotten weaker.
For many, when asked to define control, descriptors like “some one in charge” or “someone who makes the rules,” are used to summarize the term. Oxford ( ), defines control as the power to influence or direct people’s behavior or the course of events. The definition provided successfully summarizes what is commonly seen as control, however control entails much more than a short definition and descriptors. Control is embedded within complex multi layered, interlocking systems, which increase in complexity as more individuals, agencies, and variables are involved. Skinner (1953, p. 313) describes personal control as a social episode in which an individual generates important variables affecting the behavior of another.
Researchers classify social movements according to the type of change they seek (Aberle, 1966, Cameron, 1966, Blumer, 1969, as cited in Macionis, 2007). According to John Macionis, a social movement is when people commonly band together to create an organized activity that encourages or discourages social change (Macionis, 2008). In the case of this radical society, Hippies were typically ...
The group wants the individual to conform to their ideals and normative values and actions (Smelser, 1963). The group influence stresses conformity, or the adhering to the standards of the group, as a way to create a structural level of dominance and submission in a way. The group wants cohesiveness so that everyone in the group is following the same set of standards and will all act the same way (Smelser, 1963). Group influence can at times be beneficial, there are times when the individual should participate in actions that have been influenced by the group. These actions could include such things as: being polite, having table manners, using a proper greeting, doing homework, not being disrespectful in places of worship, and so forth. Group influence can
Norms tend to guide the group. Even unknowingly, members act within the norms established. Staying within these boundaries, which become ingrained in their behavior patterns, the group becomes equipped accomplish its goals. While group norms may help a group progress towards its goal, some norms may also hinder the group from working together