Deck 23: E: Collective Behaviour and Social Movements

Question 1

Explain how technology can and has become an important resource for social movements.Use specific examples to strengthen your argument.

Answer 1

no answer

Question 2

How does collective behaviour differ from the other social patterns of interest to sociologists? What are the difficulties in studying collective behaviour? What do you see as the special benefits of doing so?

Answer 2

no answer

Question 3

What have sociologists learned about disasters? What are the three types of disasters? Provide an example of each.Explain why the social damage caused by a disaster may end up being more serious than property damage.

Answer 3

no answer

Question 4

Sociologists have developed a number of theoretical explanations of social movements.Identify the six theoretical approaches noted in the text and provide an account of each.What do we learn from each? What criticism can be made of each? On the basis of this material,do you think we have developed an adequate understanding of social movements? Why or why not?

Question 5

What is a crowd? How is it different from a social group? Describe the main characteristics of the five major forms of crowds: casual,conventional,expressive,acting,and protest crowds.Provide an example of each.

Question 6

Based on the discussion found in the final box in the chapter,why do you think so many people in Canada are reluctant to become involved in social movements? What cultural characteristics of this society might explain this reluctance? In light of this pattern,how do you explain the fact that,over our history,many people have become involved in social movements,often with significant results?

Question 7

Describe contagion theory,convergence theory,and emergent-norm theory.What are the points of similarity and difference between these three theories? Discuss the strengths of each theory,as well as the points that may be criticized.

Question 8

Identify at least three social movements mentioned in the chapter.Using one or more theories of social movements,provide an explanation for the emergence of each.Can you identify stages in each social movement? If so,what are they?