Deck 18: Social Change, Collective Action, and Social Movements

Question 1

What is the difference between evolutionary and revolutionary social change?

A) Evolutionary social change is political in nature. Revolutionary social change is related to social issues, i.e. worker's rights or civil rights.
B) Evolutionary social change implies a gradual transformation, while revolutionary change implies a sudden transformation, usually involving violent struggle or force.
C) Evolutionary social change refers to transformations related to a biological progression. Revolutionary social change is manmade and self-directed.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Answer 1

B

Question 2

How does Wilbert Moore define social change?

A) Social change is the 'significant alteration of social structures.'
B) Social change is any transformation driven by the transition from one economic system to another.
C) Social change is a systematic and general transformation of values, norms, and beliefs.
D) Social change is any process that occurs in response to cultural strain.
E) None of the above

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Alvin Toffler argues that human history, while complex, can be seen to fit patterns. These three patterns are:

A) Pre-modern, modern, and postmodern
B) Static, revolutionary, dynamic
C) Agricultural, industrial, and information
D) Agreement, discord, moderation
E) None of the above

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Culture lag refers to:

A) A time when cultural elements change more slowly than structural elements, such as economic organizations or technological processes.
B) A time when cultures in so-called third world countries lack the basic resources and technologies available to their more developed counterparts.
C) A time when the booming dot com industry slowed down, and remained static for a longer period than usual.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 5

Theorists such as Marx, Parsons, Comte, and Durkheim offered all-encompassing, macrosocial theories of social development. These theories can also be called:

A) Macroism
B) Universal patterns of development
C) Meta-narratives
D) Tall tales
E) None of the above

Question 6

Which of the following is not included in Marx's theory of capitalism?

A) Capitalism is a transient form of society. It emerged out of feudalism and was destined to give way to socialism once it had exhausted all its possibilities.
B) The 'mode of production' is built around the production of commodities. Human labor is commodified and profit is created by exploiting surplus value from workers.
C) Capitalism is based on a division between the capitalists, those who own the 'means of production' and the working-class, those who work for them.
D) Capitalism is a dynamic process that involves technological progress and an increasing scale of production.
E) None of the above

Question 7

Which of the following was a factor in Weber's theory of capitalism?

A) The emergence of the capitalist economic system was an element of a wider phenomenon called rationalization.
B) Traditional institutions were replaced by those based on the principles of rational calculation and efficiency.
C) The process was exemplified in two main areas of social life: the market economy and modern bureaucracy.
D) The modern bureaucracy operated on explicit, standardized, and calculable rules.
E) All of the above

Question 8

Daniel Bell separated postindustrial society into three spheres: the techno-economic structure, the polity, and culture. How do these threes spheres relate to social change according to Bell?

A) He argued that change would result from tension caused by each sphere striving towards different goals.
B) He argued that change would begin in the techno-economic structure, driving the change in the other two spheres.
C) He argued that the polity is always at odds with the techno-economic structure. Culture mediates this conflict, and changes over time to redefine and ameliorate the tension.
D) He argued that change is cultural only. The other two spheres respond to culture.
E) None of the above

Question 9

What is a network as it relates to postmodern society?

A) Arguably a new type of social structure that replaces earlier, hierarchical, forms of social structure exemplified by the welfare state.
B) A way of organizing social actors towards goals and the means to achieve these goals.
C) A close knit group of friends that serves as a support group in absence of a nuclear family.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 10

Castells describes three types of social movements and corresponding identities that emerge in response to the globalization of information. One type is seen in mainstream institutions of society. They constitute civil society; they are a part of political activity that lie outside of the state, yet have access to state power. These are called:

A) Resistance movements and identities
B) Legitimizing movements and identities
C) Project movements and identities
D) Goal movements and identities
E) None of the above

Question 11

Castells describes three types of social movements and corresponding identities that emerge in response to the globalization of information. Another type is grounded in the identity of excluded groups. They are the product of resentment toward dominant institutions and alienation from mainstream ideologies. These are called:

A) Resistance movements and identities
B) Legitimizing movements and identities
C) Project movements and identities
D) Goal movements and identities
E) None of the above

Question 12

Castells describes three types of social movements and corresponding identities that emerge in response to the globalization of information. The last type uses available cultural materials to forge new identities and redefine one's position in society. These are called:

A) Resistance movements and identities
B) Legitimizing movements and identities
C) Project movements and identities
D) Target movements and identities
E) None of the above

Question 13

Which of the following is not a key characteristic of a social movement, as defined by Mario Diani?

A) An informal network of interactions between a number of activist groups, individuals, or organizations
B) A shared sense of collective identities among participants
C) Engagement in political or cultural conflict over social change
D) A base of material resources-including finances and labor power
E) None of the above

Question 14

What is the difference between a social movement and collective behavior?

A) Collective behavior tends to be spontaneous and short-lived. A social movement is an enduring period of collective action oriented to a particular goal.
B) Social movements are organized and premeditated action. Collective behavior is often random and chaotic.
C) There is no difference between collective behavior and social movements.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 15

Which of the following is not one of the stages of collective behavior outlined by Neil Smelser?

A) Strain
B) Structural conduciveness
C) Generalized belief
D) Covert organization
E) None of the above

Question 16

Resource mobilization theory attributes the success of a social movement to:

A) The movement's ability to accumulate various resources (leadership, organization, volunteers, and material).
B) The movement's ability to function transnationally.
C) The movement's ability to be more creative than its counterparts.
D) Luck.
E) All of the above

Question 17

Resource mobilization theory of social movements is what type of theory?

A) Functional
B) Rational choice
C) Cultural
D) Structural
E) None of the above

Question 18

According to Chapter 18, what is "new" in new social movement theory (NSM)?

A) The issues: identity, lifestyle, and inequalities
B) The increased number of individuals willing to participate in social movements.
C) The availability of financial resources for social movements
D) The focus of social movements on issues related to gender
E) None of the above

Question 19

What is framing?

A) The way in which social movements are socially constructed, interpreted, and represented by actors in the movement.
B) The way in which social movements are constructed, interpreted, and represented by outside influences, such as the mass media.
C) The focus of social movements' organizers on presenting their artistic materials in the best light possible.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 20

Held defines globalization as:

A) The "interrelatedness of countries around the world."
B) The "deterioration of international borders worldwide."
C) The "widening, deepening, and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness."
D) The "local replaced by the global on all fronts."
E) None of the above

Question 21

Which of the following is a critique of Held's definition of globalization discussed in Chapter 18?

A) This definition implies a single world-system
B) This definition is too neutral and suggests that all points connected are equal and flow between them is equal.
C) This definition assumes globalization as an empirical fact, when really globalization is just a theory.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 22

Evolutionary social change and revolutionary social change are mutually exclusive.

Question 23

For Marx, capitalism is defined by the social relations of productions.

Question 24

Information society and information age are two terms used to refer to postmodern society.

Question 25

A social movement is always collective action, but collective action is not always a social movement.

Question 26

Smelser argues that social movements emerge spontaneously, usually with no trigger or precipitating factors.

Question 27

A value-added process is one in which activity becomes more meaningful and valuable due to the financial resources mobilized.

Question 28

Technology played little role in the livelihood of primitive societies.

Question 29

Crime rates have remained constant in the United States in the past decade, reflecting little evidence of social change.

Question 30

Rational choice theories assume that individual actors engage in some sort of optimization-such as maximizing utility or minimizing costs.

Question 31

Without dispute, new social movements are fundamentally different from previous social movements.

Question 32

One of the newest social movements to attract attention and support from young activists is the anti-globalization movement.

Question 33

It is safe to say that there is evidence of increasing globalization in the sense of global interconnections on various dimensions, but these connections are uneven and unequal in their effects.