Sociology and Behaviour

Power of Groups Sanctions – consequences for specific

actions Everyone plays a specific role in a group –

social roles What are the differences between the social

roles in a Formal vs Informal group? Gangs – most gang members have been

alienated/isolated from culture, family, school, and community (Adler, 1984)

Collective Behaviour Groups act together to form a collective

goal – usually spontaneous in response to an event (eg. Riot, natural disaster)

Norms are normally unclear Panic – highly emotional/irrational

response to a dangerous or harmful social event

Studies show that, on the contrary, people normally act rationally in disaster situations

Convergence Theory Assumes when a large group of like-minded

people form, their collective behaviour mimics the group’s behaviour

Frustration-Aggression Theory – explains how riots form eg. Group frustrations are the same riot breaks out (race, sports, etc…)

What fads have influenced your generation? How was collective behaviour linked to it?

Rational Decision Theory

People are acting rationally and decide to participate in collective actions only when it passes a Threshold of people (only act when enough of your peers act)

Need full range of thresholds to start collective behaviours

Prosocial Behaviour Not all collective behaviours are negative… Altruism – unselfish regard for the needs of

others Prosocial Behaviour – individuals/groups

demonstrate empathy toward and care for the welfare of others

Examples of this in Ottawa? Durkheim – Collective solidarity or mass

publish grief – Remembrance Day, 9/11

Fear and Collective Behaviour

Mass Hysteria – widespread irrational reaction to perceived

Public reaction to H1N1? SARS? (Severe Acute Respiratory

Syndrome)

Conformity When an individual acts in accordance

with group expectations and norms Why do we recycle? Gang initiations

Compliance – behaviour by an individual that is contrary to his/her beliefs, but do it anyway to avoid punishment or achieve rewards

Breaking Social “Code”

Stanley Milgrim – Subway Experiment Harold Garfinkel – Studied the human

interactions when social code was broken – walking backwards up a flight of stairs

Escalator analogy

GroupThink Effects of collective

pressure on the decision-making abilities of individual group members

Examples?

Obedience

Act or habit of doing what one is told or submitting to authority

Charles Hofling – Nurse Study – fake doctor told nurses to administer a fake drug (Astroten) to a fake patient. The bottle said maxiumum 10mg, but Dr. Smith ordered 20mg 21/22 nurses administered the drug