There is power in numbers. This is an idea behind social change or the steps taken to bring light to things in our society which are not accepted by most. There are six different strategies which can be used to aide in the success of these proposed changes; mass mobilization, social action, citizen participation, public advocacy, popular education, and local services development. Mass mobilization are temporary movements created by a large population. An example provided by Frank Schneider, Jamie Gruman, and Larry Coutts (2012) was the protest in Egypt and Tunisia in 2011 which drove out its leaders (p. 288). Social action creates large organizations within communities which often develops into a state and national level. Schneider, Gruman, and Coutts (2012) state that the idea behind social action is that “by organizing you can stimulate collective action in the community that generates power to create change” (p. 288). When I think of social action I often think of activism within student bodies such as the Berkeley Protests which occurs during the 1960s. These protests were small but a part of the larger Free Speech Movement which was occurring nationwide. Another well-known protest amongst students occurred at Kent State University in the 1970s when the bombing of Cambodia was protested. Citizen participation aims to get citizens involved with their local government so that they can voice the political opinions of their community. An example of citizen participation in my area is a local organization known as Clean Ocean Action which organizes beach sweeps. This organization also partakes in public advocacy as it protests offshore drilling and will lobby to sway public officials. Below are some major protests and movements which have or currently used these six strategies for achieving change.
The Civil Rights Movement in The Bay Area – 1960s
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom – August 28, 1963
Summer of Love – 1967
Anti-Vietnam War – November 15, 1969
Kent State Massacre – May 4, 1970
Woodstock – July 22-25, 1999
March for America – March 10, 2010
Occupy Wall Street – September 17, 2011
March for Our Lives – March 24, 2018
Women’s March – recurring
A study by Ozden Melis Ulug and Yasemin Gulsum Acar researched the outcomes of protests and movements on an individual, group, and policy level. Ulug and Acar (2018) state that “understanding the consequences of these social movements involves realizing that social movements bring about change in different ways: at the individual level, the group level, and the systemic or policy level” (p. 44). You have an individual who has their own identity, but once they become a member or protesters who seek social action, they now have a shared identity. Having this shared identity translates to having common goals and feeling more powerful standing next to others than on one’s own. This supports my statement that there is power within numbers. Outcomes of individual change during and after protest were willingness to engage and positive emotional outcome. Outcomes of group level changes during and after protest were groups becoming more active and willing to include groups that were previously excluded. This ties in the importance of using research to influence social change. Research by psychologists is important to seek proper action and change.
References:
Schneider, F., Gruman, J., & Couts, L. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousands Islands, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Ulung, O. & Acar, Yasemin. (2018). What Happens After the Protests? Understanding Protest Outcomes Through Multi-Level Social Change. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 24, 44-53. doi: 10.1037
I do agree that there is power in numbers. One of the aspects of today’s society that I find particularly comforting is the fact that people are more willing to speak up and organize against something that they feel needs to be corrected. When I was younger, whenever the government, a corporation, a country, did something that was disagreeable people would complain about it but would also something along the lines of “but what can we do about it?”. This attitude isn’t as pervasive and instead has changed to one of “we will do something about it” and is something that brings change and I appreciate. However, I do not think this attitude is completely correct in the sense that while the belief that power in numbers in order to bring social change is true, it doesn’t necessarily take into account whether or not the message they are hoping to achieve is indeed correct or right for everyone. Movements in today’s society unfortunately seem to believe that just because they have a large amount of people following them that they are correct and can therefore impose their beliefs upon others of differing opinions without thinking whether they have the right to do so.