Question 1

In which of the following situations is "spontaneous collective behavior" most likely to occur?
A) a rally sponsored by a hierarchical organization
B) a protest march without any set leader, initiated by a loose affiliation of volunteers
C) a political campaign event in which professional managers decide the order of speakers and activities
D) a wedding with a clearly defined series of activities, organized by an experienced wedding planner

Accepted Answer

Spontaneous collective behavior is most likely to occur in situations where there is no clear leader or organization, and where people are motivated by a common goal or emotion. A protest march without any set leader, initiated by a loose affiliation of volunteers, is an example of such a situation.

Question 2

Which of the following is a true statement regarding the Tiananmen Square event in Beijing, China?
A) Chinese students organized in response to political corruption in the Chinese government but were ultimately unsuccessful.
B) Chinese soldiers protested their treatment by gathering in the square.
C) One student bravely launched a personal protest against the Chinese government.
D) No one was imprisoned for their participation in the Tiananmen protest.

Accepted Answer

The Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 were primarily organized by Chinese students and intellectuals who were advocating for political reform and against government corruption. The protests were ultimately suppressed by the Chinese government, and many participants were arrested or faced severe consequences.

Question 3

The Tiananmen Square event, in which protesters demanded political freedom, democratic participation, and an end to governmental corruption in order to fundamentally change the structure of communist China, would best be classified as which type of social movement?
A) revolutionary movement
B) reform movement
C) expressive movement
D) resistance movement

Accepted Answer

The Tiananmen Square event aimed to fundamentally change the political structure of China, which aligns with the goals of a revolutionary movement seeking radical change.

Question 4

The Ferguson protest in Ferguson, Missouri, was in response to a police officer killing a Black teenager; people gathered at the site over a two-week period to protest and memorialize the victim. Police attempted to disperse the gathering, leading to increased intensity of the conflict. In this instance of collective behavior, which of the following could be a problem in gathering evidence?
A) Researchers would not have enough time to collect evidence because the gathering lasted for such a short period of time.
B) There would be a lack of videos and news footage of the event.
C) There would be an overabundance of primary source data and overly objective data such as news reports, retrospective accounts, and interviews to sift through.
D) Even though researchers would have had enough time to observe the event in person because the protest lasted for two weeks, the event was dangerous enough that it might have kept potential researchers away.

Accepted Answer

The danger associated with the protest might have deterred researchers from observing the event in person, making it difficult to gather firsthand evidence.

Question 5

The use of cell-phone videos of a protest, collected from dozens of users, for statistical analysis is a recent research technique best used to address which problem?
A) Collecting cell-phone videos can provide researchers with conceptual clarity about whether an incident should be classified as a protest, riot, or gathering.
B) Since collective behavior often begins with little warning and can be physically dangerous, using cell-phone videos provides researchers access to a large quantity of sources without having to actually be present.
C) In previous studies, there was too much data from collective behavior events and researchers struggled to find appropriate people to interview and news stories about the events.
D) Historically, records of protests were overly objective, and contemporary researchers are seeking ways to subjectively measure the experiences of participants at protests using cell-phone videos.

Accepted Answer

Using cell-phone videos allows researchers to gather data from multiple sources without the need to be physically present, which is beneficial for studying events that are unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

Question 6

Which of the following is the correct order of social protests from smallest to largest number of participants?
A) Vietnam War protest (1969) - smallest; Women's March on Washington (2017) - largest
B) Million Man March (1995) - smallest; Iraq war protest (2003) - largest
C) "I Have a Dream" protest march (1963) - smallest; Iraq war protest (2003) - largest
D) Women's March on Washington (2017) - smallest; Vietnam War protest (1969) - largest

Accepted Answer

The "I Have a Dream" protest march in 1963 had fewer participants compared to the Iraq war protest in 2003, which had millions worldwide.

Question 7

Which of the following is a true statement about the Iraq war protest in 2003?
A) Some 5 million people participated in Rome, and an additional 2 million participated in Barcelona.
B) The protest had a major political impact.
C) Though the protest was the single largest protest gathering in history, it had little impact on the trajectory of the war.
D) Around 4 million people participated in the protest across the United States.

Accepted Answer

The 2003 Iraq war protest was the largest in history, but it did not significantly alter the course of the war.

Question 8

The protest crowd the day after Donald Trump's election compared to the inaugural crowd demonstrated which of the following important concepts relating to protest crowds?
A) The size of protest crowds has little importance on the political impact of the protests.
B) Though size of crowds may seem unimportant, size actually plays an influential role in the conclusions about political impact.
C) The inaugural crowd was larger than the protest crowd.
D) The protest crowd was only slightly larger than the inaugural crowd, emphasizing that crowd size is not that important.

Accepted Answer

The size of protest crowds can influence perceptions of political impact, as larger crowds can signify greater public dissent or support, affecting public and political discourse.

Question 9

Which city demonstrated the highest protester turnout for the women's marches against Donald Trump in 2017?
A) Los Angeles
B) Washington, D.C.
C) New York City
D) Chicago

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which city demonstrated the highest protester turnout...

Question 10

Which of the following is the best way to describe the difference between a gathering and a protest?
A) Protests are typically used by those in power to advance their positions. A gathering is always for the purpose of protesting.
B) A protest can take several forms, including a public gathering that can lead to protesters being perceived as committing some sort of crime, potentially triggering a confrontation with authorities that holds the possibility for violence. A gathering is typically but not always brief, routine, and forgettable.
C) During gatherings, participants who clap or sing do so for clearly discernable reasons and only engage in activities that the entire group is participating in. Protests do not involve collective expressions of opposition.
D) Protests are more effective in swaying political opinion when they are quantifiably larger. Gatherings are by definition memorable events.

Accepted Answer

A protest is often a public demonstration against something, which can sometimes lead to confrontations with authorities, while a gathering is generally a routine and less confrontational assembly.

Question 11

__________ describes the process by which police expect participants to exit a(n) __________ that is perceived to be causing a "threat to public safety."
A) Assembly; gathering
B) Dispersal; casual crowd
C) Dispersal; gathering
D) Mobilization; assembly

Accepted Answer

Dispersal describes the process by which police expect participants to exit a gathering that is perceived to be causing a "threat to public safety."

Question 12

Which of the following is true of dispersals of gatherings?
A) Dispersals are defined by the arrival of the police.
B) Dispersal can refer to someone leaving a party because she or he suddenly becomes ill.
C) It is common for people to want to make sure that everyone knows they are dispersing from an event.
D) Dispersals are necessarily forced exits-for example, when bad weather interrupts a party, or when a fire starts in a restaurant.

Accepted Answer

Dispersal can refer to someone leaving a gathering for any reason, including personal reasons like illness, and does not necessarily involve forced exits or police intervention.

Question 13

Which of the following best describes a solidaristic crowd?
A) a group of people watching a pie-eating contest at a fair
B) people waiting in line at the bank
C) people dancing at a bar
D) people attending a patriotic or religious event

Accepted Answer

A solidaristic crowd is characterized by a shared sense of purpose or identity, often seen in events like patriotic or religious gatherings where individuals come together with a common goal or belief.

Question 14

If you are waiting outside of the "Arrivals" area at the airport for a ride-share or taxi, which type of crowd are you most likely a part of?
A) conventional crowd
B) acting crowd
C) casual crowd
D) solidaristic crowd

Accepted Answer

The answer of If you are waiting outside of the...

Question 15

Which of the following is true of both casual and conventional crowds?
A) They both have instrumental goals.
B) They both aim to create unity through emotional expression.
C) They both have high interaction rates.
D) They both have extremely low emotional expression and barely any interaction.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is true of...

Question 16

An expressive crowd is defined by __________ and also __________.
A) little emotional feeling; little connection with others
B) high emotional connection; presence at an event such as a concert or political rally
C) the initiation of social change; strong emotional connection
D) conventional norms of behavior; lack of police involvement

Accepted Answer

An expressive crowd is characterized by high emotional connection among its members and their presence at events like concerts or political rallies, where shared emotions and experiences are prominent.

Question 17

Which of the following best describes the difference between an "acting crowd" and an "expressive crowd"?
A) An acting crowd expresses strong emotion and often acts on that emotion to create social change and protest; an expressive crowd usually occurs at performance events in which the crowd is determined to change their mood or emotions.
B) Acting crowds are often made up of people attending patriotic events who feel a sense of unity with each other; expressive crowds are people who are performing typical normative behaviors such as waiting in line at the grocery store.
C) An acting crowd is one in which people express their emotions as a group; an expressive crowd is oriented around creating social change and activism through emotional unity.
D) Acting crowds are not social problems and involve people going about their daily activities without much interaction with those around them; expressive crowds involve people at religious events who experience solidarity with others.

Accepted Answer

An acting crowd is characterized by people who express strong emotions and often act on those emotions, sometimes leading to social change or protest. An expressive crowd, on the other hand, is typically found at events where the focus is on experiencing and expressing emotions, such as concerts or religious gatherings, without necessarily aiming for social change.

Question 18

Why are Gustave Le Bon's theories influential for research on crowds?
A) Le Bon's theory of the "collective mind" is still influential for understanding how the media represent the "madding crowd."
B) Le Bon was one of the first sociologists to argue that the "madding crowd" is actually a myth.
C) Le Bon found that during the food riots in Europe, starving workers took food and stored it, then later sold it.
D) Le Bon theorized that crowd members are actually rational problem solvers.

Accepted Answer

Le Bon's theory of the "collective mind" suggests that individuals in a crowd can lose their sense of self and become part of a collective identity, which has been influential in understanding crowd behavior and media representation.

Question 19

Zombie movies and television shows that depict masses of people fleeing in panic represent which of the following myths, and what does evidence actually reveal?
A) The myth of rational crowds; in actuality, crowds respond in highly irrational and violent ways.
B) The myth of crowd anonymity; in actuality, crowds are made up of people with divergent political beliefs.
C) The myth of crowd panic responses; in actuality, crowds tend to respond with politeness and conventional behavior.
D) The myth of crowd unanimity; in actuality, crowds are made up of people who know each other.

Accepted Answer

Evidence reveals that in real-life emergencies, crowds often behave with politeness and follow conventional social norms rather than panicking.

Question 20

During the 1992 "Rodney King riot," what did the actual behavior of Black bystanders reveal about rumors?
A) During the riots, African American mobs attacked any White person they encountered, revealing how rumors are often accurate.
B) Rumors often create an inaccurate explanation for collective behavior. During the riots, Black bystanders helped White motorists who were stranded in the riot area.
C) During the riots, police officers shot any African American they saw, and Black bystanders responded by attacking White motorists, proving that rumors of crowd retaliations were true.
D) The rumor was that Black bystanders were helping White motorists, thus emphasizing how rumors are often accurate explanations for collective behavior.

Accepted Answer

Rumors often create an inaccurate explanation for collective behavior. During the riots, Black bystanders helped White motorists who were stranded in the riot area, contradicting the negative rumors.

Quiz 16: Collective Behavior

In which of the following situations is "spontaneous collective behavior" most likely to occur?

Which of the following is a true statement regarding the Tiananmen Square event in Beijing, China?

The Tiananmen Square event, in which protesters demanded political freedom, democratic participation, and an end to governmental corruption in order to fundamentally change the structure of communist China, would best be classified as which type of social movement?

The use of cell-phone videos of a protest, collected from dozens of users, for statistical analysis is a recent research technique best used to address which problem?

Which of the following is the correct order of social protests from smallest to largest number of participants?

Which of the following is a true statement about the Iraq war protest in 2003?

The protest crowd the day after Donald Trump's election compared to the inaugural crowd demonstrated which of the following important concepts relating to protest crowds?

Which city demonstrated the highest protester turnout for the women's marches against Donald Trump in 2017?

Which of the following is the best way to describe the difference between a gathering and a protest?

describes the process by which police expect participants to exit a(n) that is perceived to be causing a "threat to public safety."

Which of the following is true of dispersals of gatherings?

Which of the following best describes a solidaristic crowd?

If you are waiting outside of the "Arrivals" area at the airport for a ride-share or taxi, which type of crowd are you most likely a part of?

Which of the following is true of both casual and conventional crowds?

An expressive crowd is defined by and also .

Which of the following best describes the difference between an "acting crowd" and an "expressive crowd"?

Why are Gustave Le Bon's theories influential for research on crowds?

Zombie movies and television shows that depict masses of people fleeing in panic represent which of the following myths, and what does evidence actually reveal?

During the 1992 "Rodney King riot," what did the actual behavior of Black bystanders reveal about rumors?