Group Process and Social Integration: A System Analysis of Two Movements of Social Protest
Author(s)
Katz, Daniel
Abstract
The author asserts that the future of social psychology lies not in the study of the individual and small group, but “in a social psychological analysis of social structure and the study of societal process.” Two examples of social protest–that against the war in Vietnam and the civil rights movement–are discussed to demonstrate the relevance of such an approach. The similarities and differences at both the individual and systems levels are noted. The nature of the social system in which both movements operate is then examined to demonstrate how it affects the outcomes of each movement differently, despite their similarities. The general mechanisms of a bureaucratic society for dealing with internal conflict are discussed, using the protest movements as examples of how such mechanisms operate.
