Collective Behavior and Social Movements

Widespread dissatisfaction is one of the main reasons a social movement begins. It is a part of the first stage in social movements called emergence. Widespread dissatisfaction is important in producing a social movement because most humans don’t want to live unsatisfactory lives, it’s just not in our nature. A communication network is important in a social movement because people want to be involved in issues that matter to them. People want to be heard and have voices about things that are either not satisfactory or satisfactory to them. Resources are important in a social movement because they help spread information publicly and globally. Resources are necessary in stage two, the “coalescence” of a social movement. The resource-mobilization theory states that resources are an important contribution in a social movement. In fact the theory insists that no social movement is likely to succeed without substantial resources. When the social movement becomes established in stage three, called the bureaucratization of social movements, effective leadership is needed to sustain the organization. Effective leadership is important because they are responsible for keeping everyone involved in the organization motivated to prevent it from declining. A sense of efficacy is important in a social movement because it means you either have achieved your end goal or are making some progress and also in knowing that you’ve succeeded in your communication network, resources, and maintained effective leadership. There is a current movement going on right now that involves aspects…