Sociology

Sociology Study Guide

Social movements bring many problems into the consciousness of the society that many would ignore otherwise. During the life of the social movement, four stages represent the progress that leads to societal acceptance. Stage Description of Stage Preliminary Social restlessness; conflict between groups. Members strive to support their views. Leaders emerge Popular Discontented unite with others who share views. Objectives are supported; movement becomes respectable. Leaders emerge as prophets or reformers. Formal organization Values and goals become clear; organizational structure develops. Movement becomes centered on administrative tasks. Institutional Movement becomes accepted as part of society. Idealism and fervor is dulled and lost. Figure 10: Life Course of Social Movements Another type of social movement that is especially dreaded is terrorism, the violent use of force against civilians to intimidate a society. Authoritarian and totalitarian governments use terror against theirown populations as a means of control. Theories • Relative Deprivation Theory: This theory asserts that social movements occur when people in the society feel deprivedwhencompared either to others or the society’s past lifestyle. Social movements are more common in affluent societies than in those that experience poverty. • Resource Mobilization Theory: This theory asserts that social movements are dependent on the ability of its members to organize anduse resources (time, money, people, and skills). This theory explains how movements are started and successful.

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