Deck 21: Collective Behavior and Social Movements

Question 1

Mass hysteria, when an imagined threat causes physical symptoms among a large number of people, such as in the case at a New York school in 2012 where twelve female students started displaying symptoms of Tourette's Syndrome, is likely the result of suggestibility.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

For an action to be classified as collective behavior, it must be conducted by a group of people seeking to make a change in society.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Flash mobs, a behavior craze of 2003, resulted in a considerable degree of injury and property loss.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

An analysis of emergent norms supports the notion that collective behavior is rational.

Question 5

A social movement that becomes institutionalized will most likely lead to violence directed against authorities.

Question 6

Research by Bainbridge and others suggests The War of the Worlds broadcast in 1938 did not result in widespread panic as has been reported.

Question 7

Urban legends are passed on by people because they are amazing real-life stories and an inspiration to others.

Question 8

Most rumors are short-lived.

Question 9

For rumors to be effective, they must have the qualities of certainty and clarity.

Question 10

The Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States, Great Britain, and other Western societies are examples of a millenarian social movement.

Question 11

The most common reason people join social movements is because they have friends and acquaintances already in the organization.

Question 12

Because people involved in collective behavior do so anonymously and are swept up by the power of suggestion, they cannot legally be held responsible for their behavior.

Question 13

An "agent provocateur" may participate in a social movement to spy on the movement or try to sabotage it.

Question 14

The three main factors associated with rumors being effective are importance, ambiguity and source.

Question 15

The prochoice/prolife movements are unlikely to enter the stage of organizational decline because the two sides see reality in entirely opposite ways.

Question 16

Propaganda is actually a neutral term first used in a religious context.

Question 17

The primary difference between fad and fashion is the length of time the behavior is popular.

Question 18

The members of a crowd most important in setting it on a particular course of action are classified as ego-involved.

Question 19

An event that precedes an acting crowd in which an excited group of people stand or walk around to consider the forthcoming event is called compartmentalization.

Question 20

Charles Mackay's explanation for crowd behavior is that people acquired a "herd mentality."

Question 21

Alan is part of a group protesting the reductions in student financial aid at Boston University. He is presently a junior and is protesting because without financial aid, he cannot complete his degree. Based on Turner and Killian's identification of the type of people who participate in collective behavior, Alan would be considered a(n) ________.

A) curious spectator
B) exploiter of the situation
C) insecure participant
D) ego-involved participant

Question 22

Charles Mackay noticed that country folk, who are ordinarily reasonable people, sometimes did "disgraceful and violent things" when they formed a crowd. What explanation did Mackay propose for this kind of behavior?

A) They had serious mental problems.
B) They had a herd mentality.
C) They had been oppressed and needed to rebel.
D) They had experience in riotous behavior.

Question 23

In his study of crowds, what conclusion did Clark McPhail reach?

A) Crowds are composed of irrational people driven by rage.
B) Crowds are cooperative and goal-directed in their behavior.
C) Members of a crowd are confused and have no goal.
D) Crowds are made up of members with ego-directed behavior.

Question 24

During a riot, what term applies to participants who feel neither rage at their situation in life nor outrage when the precipitating event occurs, but see it as a chance to participate in an exciting event and loot stores?

A) psychopaths
B) insecure participants
C) opportunists
D) the ego-involved

Question 25

Sociologists who studied the panic following a fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club found that the majority of those employed by the supper club did not panic, but continued to help their customers or fight the fire. Sociologists use the term ________ to describe the employees' actions.

A) role extension
B) norm of reciprocity
C) role exclusion
D) norm of crowd behavior

Question 26

Dr. Hyde's students are gathering outside the classroom, complaining about the exam they just completed which they felt was unreasonably difficult. They are considering options for what they should do. Which phrase best describes Dr. Hyde's students?

A) They are a flash mob.
B) They are engaged in minimal strategy.
C) They are milling.
D) They are in a moral panic.

Question 27

Jeff and Matthew are middle-class members of their community. Each earns a good living with a good paying job. When a riot occurred over the rationing of gasoline, both Jeff and Matthew looted stores and destroyed property. According to sociologist Victor Rodriquez, why did Jeff and Matthew participate in the riot?

A) They feared revenge from other rioters if they did not participate.
B) They saw the loot they took as payback for the high gasoline prices.
C) They felt no one would ever catch them.
D) They suffered frustration and anger caused by the gasoline shortage.

Question 28

The term Robert Park used to explain the back-and-forth communications between members of a crowd during unrest was ________.

A) mass hysteria
B) circular reaction
C) mob mentality
D) group polarization

Question 29

Jennifer has stopped buying Disney movies because her best friend, who is a professor of childhood studies, told her there are subliminal messages in The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and other Disney films suggesting sexual activity and a devaluation of women. Which phrase best describes Jennifer's behavior?

A) She is responding to a rumor.
B) She is engaging in a minimax strategy.
C) She is preparing to be a part of a class action lawsuit.
D) She is participating in dramaturgical analysis.

Question 30

During the Rodney King trial, the people of Los Angeles were at a heightened state of stress and frustration, especially the African American population. When the police officers accused of brutality against King were found not guilty, the city erupted into a full-scale riot. The not guilty verdict would qualify as being a(n) ________.

A) background condition
B) precipitating event
C) ultimate cause
D) environmental stimulus

Question 31

Collective behavior always involves something unusual. How did Turner and Killian predict people would react to deal with the novel situation?

A) They would begin milling around irrationally.
B) They become vulnerable to suggestion.
C) They develop new norms to deal with the new situation.
D) They resort to chaos to guide their actions.

Question 32

Actions performed by a group of people who bypass the usual norms governing their behavior and do something unusual are referred to as ________.

A) collective behavior
B) cultural deviance
C) bureaucratic ritualism
D) the Peter Principle

Question 33

In an acting crowd, a sense of excitement that is passed from one person to another is called ________.

A) cultural transmission
B) compurgation
C) social contagion
D) organic solidarity

Question 34

Gustave LeBon said people in a crowd had the tendency to feel, think, and act extraordinarily, which included a sense of anonymity, less accountability, and invincibility. What term did LeBon use to refer to this phenomenon?

A) collaborative impulse
B) herd mentality
C) circular reaction
D) collective mind

Question 35

What is the initial stage in Herbert Blumer's model of the acting crowd?

A) social unrest
B) an exciting event
C) milling behavior
D) a common impulse

Question 36

During the trial deliberation period of the Oklahoma bombing trial of Terry Nichols, many people gathered outside the courthouse and waited for the verdict. Some of the people gathered outside were selling T-shirts to mark the event. Turner and Killian would consider these people ________.

A) exploiters, using the event for their own purposes
B) curious spectators, wanting to know what is going on
C) insecure participants who want to feel powerful
D) ego-involved participants who feel personally involved

Question 37

Richard Berk hypothesized the likelihood of being involved in crowd behavior will increase as more rewards are anticipated with fewer costs. This is what Berk called ________.

A) a minimax strategy
B) the norm of reciprocity
C) the norm of social approval
D) ego-involved behavior

Question 38

The radio broadcast dramatization of War of the Worlds caused widespread panic in 1938. How did psychologist Hadley Cantril explain the panic of the masses?

A) the crash of the stock market
B) a series of UFO sightings in the previous months
C) a lack of effective national leadership
D) the reaction to widespread anxiety over world conditions

Question 39

What does research show as the most common background condition of urban riots?

A) too many people in too small an area that increases stress
B) poverty and racial differences among residents
C) frustration and anger brought on by feelings of deprivation
D) corrupt government and aggressive policing that damage the sense of community

Question 40

Which participants in a crowd are most important for setting the crowd on a particular course of action?

A) curious spectators
B) the ego-involved
C) insecure participants
D) exploiters

Question 41

In choosing the tactics to use in calling attention to their goal, what do leaders of a social movement need to consider the most?

A) the proportion of male and female members among the committed members
B) whether it is a new social movement or a resurrected one
C) how many young people are in the movement
D) the predispositions and backgrounds of the inner core

Question 42

Three hundred students marched into the student dining hall and then sat on the floor in a large circle covering their eyes. In exactly three minutes they all stood up, bowed to the other students eating, marched out of the dining hall, and dispersed in every direction. What title best describes this group and their activity?

A) They were in a moral panic.
B) The group was a part of an urban legend.
C) The group is most accurately classified as a coalition.
D) The group was a flash mob.

Question 43

What is the target of reformative social movements and transformative social movements?

A) the individual
B) the government
C) the structure of society
D) a particular race or ethnic group

Question 44

Social movements that seek to change particular aspects of individuals, such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and Million Man March are best described as which type of social movement?

A) alterative
B) transformative
C) reformative
D) redemptive

Question 45

One social movement, referred to as a cargo cult, was organized by the Melanesians about 100 years ago and was based on the revelations of their prophets. What was the result of this movement?

A) The extinction of the Melanesian population when they resisted European rule.
B) A self-fulfilling prophecy by the Melanesians in which the British saved them from starvation.
C) The Melanesians adopted European farming methods that created modest surpluses.
D) The Melanesians banded together to become self-sufficient and resist European colonization.

Question 46

An urban legend is a story with an ironic twist that sounds realistic, but is false. According to folklorist Jan Brunvand, urban legends teach us three moral lessons about life. Which of the following is not one of the three moral lessons identified by Brunvand?

A) The stories serve as warnings.
B) Each story is related to social change.
C) Each story is calculated to instill fear.
D) Each story should be taken seriously.

Question 47

Who are the gatekeepers to social movements who play a very important role in the movement's success?

A) the mass media
B) the police
C) local governmental authority
D) the number of minorities involved

Question 48

Selene is a member of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Based on the typologies of social movements, Selene would be considered a member of a(n) ________ social movement.

A) reformative
B) alterative
C) redemptive
D) transformative

Question 49

The popularity of "Tickle Me Elmo," Beanie Babies, and Cabbage Patch Kids are all examples of behaviors that appear quickly and then quickly disappear. These situations are referred to as ________.

A) flash mobs
B) urban legends
C) crazes
D) entertainment cults

Question 50

A large group of people who organize to resist or promote social change, such as the organized effort of African Americans to gain civil rights in the 1960s, is classified as a ________.

A) social movement
B) moral panic
C) transformative revolution
D) sociocultural revolution

Question 51

A social movement qualifying as a transformative social movement that is based on the prophecy of coming calamity is called a(n) ________ social movement.

A) millenarian
B) redemptive
C) reformative
D) alterative

Question 52

A social movement that emphasizes world change rather than changing a condition in a specific society, such as the global women's movement, is called a transnational social movement or a ________.

A) redemptive social movement
B) reformative social movement
C) new social movement
D) millenarian social movement

Question 53

What do the German Nazis and Italian Black Shirts have in common with modern Al-Qaeda fundamentalists?

A) They are all alterative social movements.
B) They are all cargo cults.
C) They are all millenarian social movements.
D) They are all metaformative social movements.

Question 54

Which two social movements target global conditions and seek partial or total change?

A) millenarian social movements and redemptive social movements
B) reformative social movements and alterative social movements
C) transformative social movements and metaformative social movements
D) redemptive social movements and alterative social movements

Question 55

Roy is a member of a social movement protesting the reliance on foreign oil and the lack of alternative energy sources. Ray can be counted on to show up for demonstrations, do grunt work, pass out petitions, and make telephone calls. Based on this role, which phrase best describes Roy?

A) Roy is a member of the inner circle.
B) Roy is on the second level and considered one of the committed.
C) Roy is a member of the sympathetic public.
D) Roy is an agent provocateur.

Question 56

When large numbers of people become intensely concerned, even fearful, about some behavior and their fear is out of proportion to any supposed danger it is referred to as a ________.

A) protest
B) social movement
C) revolt
D) moral panic

Question 57

The two social movements that target the individual are ________ and ________ social movements.

A) reactive; transformative
B) alterative; redemptive
C) reformative; transformative
D) millenarian; redemptive

Question 58

The target of a redemptive social movement is the ________, and the goal is ________.

A) individual; to change a particular behavior
B) society; to change specific aspects of society
C) society; to transform the social order
D) individual; to change the entire person

Question 59

Sociologist Mayer Zald suggests that during some periods of time there are very few social movements in a society and, at other times, a wave of social movements will emerge. What reason did Zald suggest to explain the number of social movements increasing or decreasing?

A) They increased during periods of economic expansion.
B) They decrease when a society experiences population shrinkage.
C) They decrease during periods of political stability.
D) They increase when the society experiences a cultural crisis.

Question 60

What is the major difference between fad and fashion?

A) whether or not harm to the public is involved.
B) the life span of the activity
C) the number of participants
D) how successful the activity is

Question 61

What is the minimax strategy?

Question 62

Why do the prolife and prochoice campaigns qualify as being social movements?

A) Both campaigns receive national attention in the media.
B) Both campaigns are highly organized.
C) Due to lack of resource mobilization, neither campaign qualifies as being a social movement.
D) Both campaigns have not met the decline and death stage of a social movement.

Question 63

In which stage of a social movement is a division of labor set up?

A) resource mobilization
B) organization
C) organizational resurgence
D) institutionalization

Question 64

Susie sees that her neighbor Tom has a new boat. Despite the fact that she recently received a deduction in pay she feels she should have a new boat as well. According to the text this example represents __________ theory.

A) relative deprivation
B) mass society
C) modernization
D) estrangement

Question 65

What are the three main factors associated with rumors that increase their effectiveness?

Question 66

Why are most rumors short-lived?

Question 67

Why did Charles Mackay consider collective behavior to be the result of "herd mentality?"

Question 68

By today's definition, which of the following is least characteristic of propaganda?

A) a booklet extolling the virtues of a dictator.
B) a documentary file based on known historical facts
C) a movie depicting an evil leader as a hero
D) a TV program financed by a hate group

Question 69

When people join social movements based on their evaluations of what they think they should have compared with what others have, they are employing which of the following theories to explain the movement?

A) anomie theory
B) estrangement theory
C) alienation theory
D) relative deprivation theory

Question 70

What is the role of the precipitating event as a part of the cycle of a riot?

Question 71

According to Blumer, what are the five stages that precede the development of an acting crowd?

Question 72

Originally, propaganda referred to a committee of the Roman Catholic Church whose assignment was the care of foreign missions; today it usually refers to information that ________.

A) presents all pertinent data
B) is one-sided and distorts reality
C) is one-sided but clarifies the issue
D) is a series of catchy slogans

Question 73

What did Robert Park mean by circular reaction?

Question 74

What were the five kinds of participants identified by Turner and Killian who take part in collective behavior based on emergent norm theory?

Question 75

An institutionalized social movement is underway on campus to reduce violence against women. In view of this, which of the following actions is least likely to occur?

A) The police will be arresting almost any man who is accused of assaulting his girlfriend or wife.
B) The women protesting may strike out violently at specific men who they feel are victimizing women.
C) Women will be taking self-defense classes in firearm use and hand-to-hand combat.
D) Members of the movement will protest outside the public safety building, showering it with eggs and rotten fruit.

Question 76

Explain the relationship between social expectations and actual social conditions.

A) Social expectations and social conditions are rising at comparable rates.
B) Social expectations are rising at a faster rate than actual conditions.
C) Social expectations are decreasing while social conditions are improving.
D) Both expectation and social conditions are decreasing.

Question 77

According to sociologists Alfred and Elizabeth Lee, there are seven basic techniques that are used by propagandists. One technique is to have candidates pose for photographers in jeans and a work shirt or having lunch at a fast-food restaurant. This is an example of the ________ strategy.

A) association
B) common man
C) transfer
D) plain folks

Question 78

Some agent provocateurs that are employed to spy on a social movement convert to the movement's goals. Sociologist Gary Marx suggested several reasons for their conversion. Which of the following was not one of the reasons suggested by Marx?

A) the charismatic charm of the inner core members of the movement to manipulate the spies
B) the background characteristics the spies shared with members of the group
C) the frequent interaction the spies had with movement members resulting in friendships
D) the building of trust with group members and being cut off from their own group

Question 79

The stage in which a social movement has developed a bureaucracy and has formed a hierarchy of officers and leadership is the ________ stage.

A) agitation
B) institutionalization
C) organization
D) resurgence

Question 80

A crucial factor that enables social movements to make it past the initial unrest and agitation stage is ________.

A) movement evaluation
B) social alienation
C) estrangement
D) resource mobilization