SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR

INTRODUCTION Every society is made up of different groups with different interests. While some of these interests may be very close to the other interests, some others are far apart. While some interests are satisfied, others are sacrificed. Members of the society who felt that their interests, goals or purposes are sacrificed may react against the organization, system or arrangement of things. Therefore, social movement is a product of dissatisfaction by some members of the society about some problematic conditions. Social movements are of different types and have different stages of development. Reactions that produce social movement have the tendency also to produce collective behaviour. These issues are discussed in this unit. Social Movements Defined Social movements are made up of individuals who are dissatisfied with parts or all of an existing type of social organization. These individuals rally around a programme directed at a ‘change’ of the problematic conditions. Types of Social Movements Social movements differ widely in many respects such as size, forms,and degree of organization, leadership and goals. They include but not limited to i. General Social Movements: These include feminism, the youth movement, and labour movement. They reflect new self-images that individuals formulate against the background of gradual and general cultural drifts. Since these new self-images are not clearly defined, they inspire only uncertain and loosely organized efforts among the followers of general movements which consequently lacks clear goals, formal organization, effective leadership, and recognized membership. ii. Specific Social Movements: These are undergrowths of the first type. In the course of their development, these movements achieve clarity, definiteness, and effectiveness in their goals, organizations, leadership and membership. These movements include reform movements and revolutionary movements. iii. Expressive Movements: These are represented by religious and fashion movements. They do not function as agents of social change but as crystallizations of restless emotions which are released in expressive behavior through participation in the movement. iv. Revival and Nationalistic Movements: These are actually mixed types merging, in different degrees, the characteristics of specific social movements and expressive movements. Revival movements glorify the past. They share this feature with many nationalistic movements. A specific social movement with revolutionary aims may combine veneration for a nation’s past with emotional fervor of religious movement while its success may be attributed to its fashionable attraction. Stages in the Development of Social Movements There is more agreement on the generalized pattern of development which fits most social movements that succeed in running their course. A social movement goes through roughly four stages, each of which brings to dominance a different type of leader. Stage 1: Social Unrest All social movements are “action-oriented”. They get under way when social and cultural conditions foster a combination of disruptive feelings and attitudes such as dissatisfaction, insecurity, hostility, and frustration. After the initial outbursts of mass discontent in the form of undirected, sporadic and futile demonstrations, there usually appears the “agitator” who focuses the restless energy of susceptible people through wellaimed suggestions upon specific goals. Stage 2: Popular Excitement As soon as the people marched with success toward suggested goals and against common enemies the agitator is replaced by (or changed into) “the prophet or reformer” who further sharpens the objectives of the movement under his direction the enthusiasm of the masses is channeled toward more enduring forms of thought and action. Soon a deep sense of solidarity and idealism emerges along with a distinctive outlook, morale, and ideology. Stage 3: Formalized Organization With the formulations of tactics, discipline, rules, policies, and the establishment of formalized organization, the movement passes into the hands of a leader whose temperament resembles that of a “statesman”. At this point many movements that have survived the second stage become arrested in the development because of their failure to realize desired goals and to attract new followers. Stage 4: Institutionalization All social movements strive toward complete social acceptance which makes their programme and goal part of the general culture. Since the achievement of institutionalization frequently depends on the passing of laws and similar technical processes the movement is likely to accept the leadership of an “administrator”. Few movements achieve the rank of social institutions and most of those that do vanish soon after the attainment of their final objectives. Collective Behaviour The analyst of collective behaviour, however, may not limit his studies to social movements, but many additional phenomena listed below: i. Crowds: The crowd has been described as having “collective mind” and a psychic unity which change the normal behaviour of people into half-conscious and hypnotic forms of conduct modern explanations stress the emotional effects of heightened suggestion, and the restless, contagious nature of crowd action. Crowd behaviour is viewed as highly emotional, uncritical, and often automatic. The concrete influences of crowd behaviour are skilled leadership, protective anonymity, the increased volume of interstimulation in large groups, and the rhythmic repetition of stimuli brought about by willing and expressive crowd activities such as singing or cheering. Four types of crowds have been identified: (a) The Casual Crowd: This is represented by the momentary assemblage of individuals who watch a performer in the window of a store. (b) The Conventionalized Crowd: This consists of people listening to a concert or observing a football game. (c) The Acting Crowd: This is an aggressive crowd which directs its activity toward a goal such as the lynching of a victim (i.e. mob aggression) or those carrying out revolution. (d) The Expressive or Dancing Crowd: This often provides the basis for the development of religious sects or the ‘careers’ of howling teenage idols. Individuals who participate in the activities of an expressive crowd do not aim their excitement toward goal, but express and release their emotional fervour in physical movement. ii Audiences There are two broad types of audiences: (a) The Physical Audience: This is a physically compact group of spectators, simply a conventional crowd. (b) The Diffused Audience: This is represented by many viewers of a television programme who are physically separated from one another, but still witness the same event. iii. Publics Groups with special interests but differing opinions are called publics. Modern societies develop many issues (education, entertainment, industry, medical care etc.) which are taken up by a public that feels concerned for these issues. The different opinions are discussed in an atmosphere where facts and rational arguments play a role of some importance. iv. Masses A mass is an assemblage of individuals which possess four outstanding features: (1) heterogeneity, (2) anonymity, (3) poverty of interaction, and (4) looseness of organization. A mass is therefore made up of individuals who come from many different groups and background. The members do not know one another. They are physically separated from one another and must, most of the time, act on their own. Finally, the members of a mass tend to act in a confused and groping manner since they are only loosely organized. v. Rumour, Public Opinion and Propaganda Rumour and spectacular suggestion dominate the behaviour of crowds. They are give and take of discussion. Argument and counter-argument lead to the formation of “public opinion” - a universe of discourse which reflects the concerns and consideration of publics. Propaganda plays upon emotions to create convictions and corresponding action. Successful propaganda displaces publics and their opinions it returns collective behaviour to the level of crowd and, increasingly, mass activity. CONCLUSION Even in simple homogeneous societies group with differing interest emerge. Sometimes, certain interests are deliberately satisfied as priority for group survival. The reactions of some members of the society (simple or complex) have the tendency of becoming factors in the development of social movement and expression of crowd behaviour. While it is possible to classify social movement by their main concerns, it may be impossible to distinctly draw a line between the types of social movement and the crowd behaviour that may become outcomes of formation and development of social movement. SUMMARY In this unit, emphasis has been placed on developing an operational definition of social movement. The different stages in the development of social movements were presented also. The phenomena of crowd behaviour were made obvious through appropriate classifications.