Social Change Flashcards
Social Change, Minority Influence, Resistance.
Factors in Social Change
Drawing Attention
Protests, marches and campaigning to draw attention to a problem or cause that opposes the majority position.
Factors in Social Change
Consistency
Activists must not change their beliefs or demands.
Factors in Social Change
Synchronic
Consistency
All activists are saying the same thing.
Factors in Social Change
Diachronic
Consistency
All activists have been saying the same thing for a long time, which makes other people start to rethink their own views.
Factors in Social Change
Commitment
Must demonstate their dedication to the cause.
Factors in Social Change
Augmentation Principle
Commitment
Minorities may engage in extreme activities that put themselves in danger to display a greater committment and draw the attention of the majority.
Factors in Social Change
Flexibility
- Consistency is not the only important factor in minority influence.
- Someone who is extremely consistent may be seen as rigid, unbending and dogmatic, which is unlikely to appeal to the majority.
- Minorities need to balance between consistency and flexability and be prepared to adapt their point of view.
Definition
Snowball Effect
The minority view has become the majority view and change has occurred.
Definition
Social Cryptoamnesia
When people have a memory that change has occurred, but don’t remember how it happened.
Deeper Processing
When people who had simply accepted the status quo began to reconsider their belief.
Consistency: Evaluation
Research Support
Moscovici (1969)
- Blue/green slides study showed a consistent minority had a greater effect on changing views.
- Wood (1994) conducted a meta-analysis of 100 similar studies.
- Found that the minorities that were the most consistent had the greatest influence.
This suggests that presenting a consistent view is a minimum requirement for a minority trying to influence a majority.
Consistency Evaluation
Research Support
- Blue-green slide study showed a consistent minority had a greater affect on the majority than an inconsistent minority.
- Wood (1994) carried out meta-analysis of almost 100 similar studies and found that minorities who were consistent were the most influential.
Strength
Presenting a consistent view is a minimum requirement for a minority to influence a majority.
Minority Influence: Evaluation
Research Support
Martin (2003) (Deeper Processing)
- A message supporting a particular viewpoint was presented.
- One group then heard the minority group agree with the initial view; another heard the majority agree.
- Participants were exposed to a conflicting view and people were less willing to change their opinions if they had listened to a minority group than if they had listened to a majority.
Suggests that the minority message had been more deeply processed and had a more enduring effect.
Minority Influence: Evaluation
Low Ecological Validity
Martin (2003)
- Real-world social influence is more complicated as majorities usually have more power and status than minorities.
- Minorities must be very commited to their cause as they often face hostile opposition.
- The consequences of agreeing with the minority are absent from minority influence research.
Martin (2003)’s findings are limited in what they can tell us about minority influence in real-world situations.
Minority Influence: Evaluation
Artifical tasks
Martin (2003)
- Research is often far from how minorities attempt to change the behaviour of majorities in real life.
- In jury decision-making and political campaigning, the outcomes are vastly more important than identifying the colour of a slide.
- Sometimes the outcomes are a matter of life and death.
Findings of minority influence studies are lacking in external validity and a limited in what they can tell us about real-world social situations.
