SOC 1105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Collective Behavior, Social Change, Moral Panic

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1105
• Professor: Sam Alvaro

Document Summary

Social movement: organized activity that encourages or discourages social change: collective behaviour: activity involving a large number od people often spontaneous, and usually in violation of established norms, ex; mobs, and crowds rumor, gossip. Studying collective behaviour: collective behaviour is difficult to study for three reasons. It is diverse: involves a wide range of human action. It is variable: hard to predict outcomes: much collective behaviour is transitory: it can come and go quickly, collectivity: a large number of people whose minimal interaction occurs in the absence of well- defined and convectional norms. Mobs and riots: mob: a highly emotional crowd that pursued violent or destructive goal, e. g. , lynch mob, riot: a social eruption that is highly emotional, violent and undirected, they often serve as collective expressions of social injustice. Social change: well organized crowds challenge the status quo and sometimes to force social change. Suggest that people take an different roles: e. g. , leader, lieutenant, follower.