Sociology / Issues and Problems in Contemporary Society– Notes

Collective Behavior and Social Movements

Collective Behavior
a. Refers to ways of thinking, feeling, and acting which develop among a large number
of people and which are relatively spontaneous and unstructured.
b. Refers to relatively nonroutine actions that engage large, often anonymous, groups of
people.
c. Turner and Killian defined collective behavior as forms of social behavior in which
the usual conventions cease to guide social actions and people collectively transcend,
bypass, or subvert established institutional patterns and structures.

Theories About Collective Behavior

1. Ignorant Mass Theory
The belief that collective behavior is the result of uneducated, thoughtless, and
impulsive behavior. Some people do things without knowing the reasons why such
activity happens.
2. Rational Decision Making Approach-
According to this theory, collective behavior can be brought about by rational and
intelligent decisions when people are confronted by situations where organized norms
do not govern collective actions.
3. Emergent Norms Perspective
This holds that collective behavior is not characterized by unanimity but by
differences in expressions and emotion. Members of the group act differently in
unstructured situations because they are guided by the emergent and individual
definition of the situation.
4. Emotional and Social Contagion Theory
Le Bun argued that the transformation of individuals into a crowd “puts them in
possession of a collective mind” that makes people think, feel, and act differently
from the way they would if they were alone.
5. Convergence Perspective
This approach holds that participants in a collective behavior are motivated by
common forces within them, such as similarity or commonality of aspirations,
characteristics, social class, income, education, interests, and needs. The collectivity
is considered homogeneous as they share many things in common.
6. Value-Added Approach
According to Smelser, there exist certain conditions which may bring about
collective behavior.
Preconditions For Collective Behavior

1. Structural Conduciveness - Social conditions favor collective actions.

2. Social and Structural Strains - Social strain can spring from a sudden disruption of
the existing social order, from long-term social change, values conflict between
different segments of the society.
3. Generalized Belief - The participants develop vague perceptions of the events or
situation, thereby making it more difficult to define and analyze. This intensifies the
tension as it makes the vague threat more imminent.
4. Precipitating Events - This refers to a dramatic episode that happens to confirm
people’s generalized beliefs.
5. Mobilization of Participants - After the facts are in and interpreted by leaders and
molders of public opinion, people begin acting on their beliefs.
6. Social Control - Attempts to stop or deflect the collective behavior may only feel the
mass hysteria. With the intensity and zeal of mass actions, social control becomes
ineffective.

Rumor and Gossip

Rumor
- It is an unverified story that is calculated from person to person and is accepted as fact,
although its sources may be vague or unknown.

Gossip
- It involves known facts.

Further, gossip deals with the personal affairs of individuals whereas rumors typically
deal with events and issues of greater importance and magnitude.