The passage tells us that the theory of "rising expectation" asserts that protest activity was a response to psychological tensions generated by gains experienced immediately prior to the civil rights movements, where advancement did not satisfy ambition but fueled the desire for further advancement (lines 23-28). The theory of "relative deprivation" tells us that the impetus for the protest is gains achieved during the premovement period coupled with simultaneous failure to make any appreciable headway relative to the dominant group, so even though the black socioeconomic status improved overall, it failed to improve relative to the other racial group's socioeconomic status.
Let's look at the answer choices:
(A) They predict different responses to the same socioeconomic conditions.
Incorrect. All of these theories are a formulation of the "classical" social psychological theory of social movement that predicts social unrest following a "system strain," identified as a change in black socioeconomic status (lines 9-21).
(B) They disagree about the relevance of psychological explanation for social movements.
Incorrect. All these theories are a formulation of the "classical" social PSYCHOLOGICAL theory, meaning psychological explanation is central to each of these theories.
(C) They are meant to explain different kinds of social change.
Incorrect. All these theories are a formulation of the "classical" social psychological theory and are meant to explain social unrest, and in this passage are being applied to the civil rights movement.
(D)They describe the motivation of protestors in slightly different ways.
Correct. The "rising expectations" theory says that the protestors were motivated by the desire for continuous advancement, whereas the "relative deprivation" theory argues that the protestors were motivated with the lack of relative advancement with regard to the dominant racial group.
(E) They disagree about the relevance of the socioeconomic status to system strain.
Incorrect. All of these theories are a formulation of the "classical" social psychological theory of social movement that predicts social unrest following a "system strain," identified as a change in black socioeconomic status (lines 9-21).
