Neil Smelser
Encyclopedia
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He was an active researcher from 1958 to 1994. His research has been on collective behavior
Collective behavior
The expression collective behaviour was first used by Robert E. Park, and employed definitively by Herbert Blumer, to refer to social processes and events which do not reflect existing social structure , but which emerge in a "spontaneous" way.Collective behavior might also be defined as action...
.
He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1952. From 1952-54, he was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University where he studied economics, philosophy, and politics. At 24, he co-authored "Economy and Society" with Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....
. He earned his Ph.D in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
from Harvard in 1958, and was a junior fellow of the Society of Fellows. He was the fifth director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences is an American interdisciplinary research body in Stanford, California focusing on the social sciences and humanities . Fellows are elected in a closed process, to spend a period of residence at the Center, released from other duties...
from 1994-2001. He retired in 1994 and is now an emeritus professor.
His value added theory (or strain theory) argued that six elements were necessary for a particular kind of collective behaviour to emerge:
- Structural conduciveness - things that make or allow certain behaviors possible (e.g. spatial proximity)
- Structural strain - something (inequality, injustice) must strain society
- Generalized belief - explanation; participants have to come to an understanding of what the problem is
- Precipitating factors - spark to ignite the flame
- Mobilization for action - people need to become organized
- Failure of social control - how the authorities react (or don't)