Deck 23: Collective Behavior and Social Movements

Question 1

Propaganda, by definition, involves statements that are false.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

In industrial societies, established style gives way to changing fashion.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Fashion and fads, riots, crowds, mass hysteria, and public opinion are all types of collective behavior.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

One type of crowd can easily change into another type.

Question 5

Collective behavior is generally easy to explain.

Question 6

Contagion theory was proposed by Gustave Le Bon.

Question 7

In recent decades, many fashions born among the poor have become popular among people who are more affluent.

Question 8

Another name for "mass hysteria" is "moral panic."

Question 9

Unlike a mob action, a riot usually has a clear goal.

Question 10

People sitting on a beach is one example of a casual crowd.

Question 11

Fads are sometimes called "crazes."

Question 12

People in crowds who act emotionally are not necessarily acting irrationally-there may be a good reason for the strong emotion.

Question 13

Disasters and mobs are both examples of collective behavior.

Question 14

Only a handful of actual mob lynchings in the United States have ever been documented.

Question 15

While gossip may spread throughout a society, rumor is localized.

Question 16

According to Georg Simmel, trendsetters are usually people from the lower class.

Question 17

Some riots are fueled by hate, but some riots are caused by positive emotions.

Question 18

To a passing observer, all types of collective behavior appear very much the same.

Question 19

Convergence theory claims that crowds can have a hypnotic effect on participants.

Question 20

Convergence theory suggests crowd behavior comes from the people who join the crowd.

Question 21

Neil Smelser, who created structural-strain theory, argues that an effective social movement need not have a clear statement of the problem nor a clear understanding of a solution.

Question 22

Almost every significant public issue in the United States has sparked a social movement favoring change and one opposing it.

Question 23

Genocide-the systematic killing of many people-is an example of an "intentional disaster."

Question 24

Social movements rarely bring about significant social change.

Question 25

All social movements call for basic change to all of society.

Question 26

Social movements always form among the people who are the most disadvantaged.

Question 27

Social movements need resources, including members, in order to succeed.

Question 28

The social damage from a disaster is especially great when a toxic substance is involved.

Question 29

A major oil spill from a ship would be an example of a "natural disaster."

Question 30

Women have been at the forefront of most social movements.

Question 31

Political-economy theory links social movements to opposition to the capitalist economy.

Question 32

The "coalescence" of a social movement includes its efforts to "go public."

Question 33

Collective behavior involves action that often

A)is unplanned.
B)involves a large number of people.
C)is controversial.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 34

Kai Erikson claims that, as serious as many disasters are, they usually are over quickly.

Question 35

Social movements are common in preindustrial societies.

Question 36

"New social movements" tend to be about "bread-and-butter" economic issues.

Question 37

William Kornhauser's mass-society theory suggests that involvement in social movements is likely among people with strong social ties.

Question 38

William Kornhauser's mass-society theory claims that social movements are personal as much as political in that they offer people a sense of meaning and purpose.

Question 39

Culture theory would argue that a photograph or some other symbol often serves as the rallying point for forming a social movement.

Question 40

Some social movements continue, even after they achieve their original goal.

Question 41

A riot differs from a mob in that the riot

A)is not usually violent.
B)typically has little focus or clear goal.
C)involves fewer people.
D)is very rare in U.S.history.

Question 42

"Widespread attitudes about controversial issues" is the definition of which of the following concepts?

A)public opinion
B)gossip
C)rumor
D)propaganda

Question 43

Collective behavior is difficult to study because

A)it involves only one particular kind of behavior.
B)it is often transitory-that is, it is brief and passing.
C)it is always violent.
D)people object to being watched.

Question 44

Emergent-norm theory states that people in crowds

A)make their own rules as they go along.
B)carry a plan for their behavior into the crowd.
C)behave in surprisingly "normal" ways.
D)are taken over by the contagious emotions of the crowd.

Question 45

Because of their intense emotion, mobs

A)can be violent and destructive.
B)tend to last a long time.
C)include people who get to know one another.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 46

Which of the following is an example of mass behavior?

A)a riot
B)rumor
C)a mob
D)a crowd

Question 47

A New Year's Eve celebration in a public nightclub is an example of which kind of crowd?

A)protest crowd
B)conventional crowd
C)expressive crowd
D)casual crowd

Question 48

The text presents several types of crowds.Read the list below and indicate which is NOT one of the types of crowds discussed in the text.

A)casual crowd
B)acting crowd
C)lasting crowd
D)conventional crowd

Question 49

Which of the following is a good example of a crowd?

A)many people walking on a city street who stop to observe an auto accident
B)many people who are graduates of the same college
C)a few people who gather at a city park every Saturday to play tennis
D)a few people who live in the same college dorm

Question 50

The concept "gossip" refers to

A)statements that are untrue.
B)beliefs that are widespread.
C)rumors about people's personal affairs.
D)widespread attitudes about controversial issues.

Question 51

Which of the following is an example of a local collectivity?

A)family members quietly reading in their living room
B)excited soccer fans throwing bottles as they leave a stadium
C)two people holding hands as they walk through the woods
D)All of these are correct.

Question 52

Fashion differs from a fad in that fashion

A)is shorter lived.
B)is less conventional.
C)reflects established cultural values.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 53

Mass behavior is defined as collective behavior

A)in the form of a riot or a mob.
B)involving people in a crowd.
C)among people spread over a wide geographic area.
D)involving powerful emotions.

Question 54

Sociologists say that people in preindustrial societies typically conform to a "style." By contrast, they point out that members of modern societies are influenced by

A)nothing at all.
B)traditional styles.
C)fashion and fads.
D)None of these is correct.

Question 55

A collectivity involves a large number of people

A)with minimal interaction and few well-defined norms.
B)who know each other well.
C)who interact in a formal setting such as a college classroom.
D)who are members of a well-defined social group.

Question 56

Which of the following is NOT a form of collective behavior?

A)a fad
B)mass hysteria
C)a deviant subculture
D)public opinion

Question 57

Hula hoops, streaking, and Pokemon cards are all examples of

A)fads.
B)fashion.
C)style.
D)social movements.

Question 58

Convergence theory states that people in crowds

A)make their own rules as they go along.
B)carry a plan for their behavior into the crowd.
C)behave in surprisingly "normal" ways.
D)are taken over by the contagious emotions of the crowd.

Question 59

Which of the following concepts refers to efforts to shape the public's attitudes on some issue?

A)fashion
B)gossip
C)mass behavior
D)propaganda

Question 60

Contagion theory states that people in crowds

A)make their own rules as they go along.
B)carry a plan for their behavior into the crowd.
C)behave in surprisingly "normal' ways.
D)are taken over by a wave of emotion.

Question 61

Which type of social movement seeks radical social change but only in some people?

A)alternative social movements
B)redemptive social movements
C)reformative social movements
D)revolutionary social movements

Question 62

The fears about the possibility of a meteor hitting the earth could easily give rise to which of the following?

A)a conventional crowd
B)a moral panic
C)a protest crowd
D)All of these are correct.

Question 63

Deprivation theory states that social movements arise among people who

A)feel adrift in society.
B)have plenty of money and other resources.
C)feel they lack enough income, basic rights, or human dignity.
D)mobilize around cultural symbols.

Question 64

Of the various types of social movements, which is least threatening to the status quo?

A)alternative social movements
B)redemptive social movements
C)reformative social movements
D)revolutionary social movements

Question 65

Kai Erikson explains that disasters harm people in a way the public often fails to realize by

A)destroying property.
B)killing people.
C)breaking down people's communities.
D)None of these is correct.

Question 66

Hurricane Irene, which devastated parts of New England in 2011, is best thought of as an example of which of the following types of disasters?

A)natural disaster
B)technological disaster
C)intentional disaster
D)All of these are correct.

Question 67

The genocide that took place in the Darfur region of Sudan is an example of which of the following types of disasters?

A)technological disaster
B)natural disaster
C)intentional disaster
D)All of these are correct.

Question 68

In preindustrial societies, social movements

A)were quite rare.
B)were typically about economic issues.
C)commonly took the form of rioting.
D)were more common than they are today.

Question 69

Thorstein Veblen used the concept "conspicuous consumption" to refer to which of the following?

A)doing things in public instead of in private
B)consuming expensive things to show off one's wealth
C)boycotting certain products as a form of protest
D)trying to look more socially disadvantaged than you really are

Question 70

The atomic tests near to Utrick Island in 1954 were a disaster for the 159 people who lived there.Kai Erikson explains that this disaster

A)brought the people together in a good way.
B)never really had an ending.
C)was completely fixed by the U.S.government within a few days.
D)showed how it is possible to predict and prepare for disasters.

Question 71

Efforts by activists to get the public to recognize the danger of AIDS in the early 1980s is a good example of what process related to social movements?

A)formalization
B)moral panic
C)claims making
D)structural strain

Question 72

The concept of relative deprivation is based on the idea that

A)people evaluate themselves by making specific comparisons.
B)some people have more than others.
C)people always judge their situation in absolute terms.
D)getting more makes people feel better about themselves.

Question 73

The enormous oil spill by the tanker Exxon Valdez in 1989 is an example of which of the following types of disasters?

A)natural disaster
B)technological disaster
C)intentional disaster
D)All of these are correct.

Question 74

"Mass hysteria" is another name for

A)acting crowd.
B)casual crowd.
C)moral panic.
D)fashion.

Question 75

As the "Paul is Dead" story in the box about the Beatles illustrates, rumor thrives in a climate of

A)uncertainty.
B)relative deprivation.
C)officials taking decisive action.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 76

Social movements are defined as

A)unlawful activity in the form of rioting.
B)widely dispersed efforts to force people to conform.
C)any formal organization that uses propaganda.
D)organized activity that encourages or discourages social change.

Question 77

Which type of social movement seeks radical change in all of society?

A)alternative social movements
B)redemptive social movements
C)reformative social movements
D)revolutionary social movements

Question 78

Today, social movements are most likely to develop around any number of

A)widely held beliefs.
B)controversial public issues.
C)national goals.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 79

Alcoholics Anonymous, an organization that seeks to help alcoholics achieve a sober life, is one example of which type of social movement?

A)alternative social movements
B)redemptive social movements
C)reformative social movements
D)revolutionary social movements

Question 80

The assumption that the people who participate in the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstration feel that they lack sufficient income and job prospects offers support for which of the following theories explaining social movements?

A)culture theory
B)new social movements theory
C)mass-society theory
D)deprivation theory