Social change Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is social change and what can influence it
How society adopts new beliefs, attitudes or behaviours overtime
Can be influenced by minority and majority influences as well as obedience
How can minority influence cause social change
when they are consistent, committed and flexible in their viewpoints. Moscovici highlights how minority influence leads others to reconsider their views
Typically follows a series of stages
What are the stages that minority influence follows to create social change
- drawing attention
- consistency
- deeper processing
- The augmentation principle (commitment)
- The snow ball effect
- Social cryptomnesia
How does the
1. drawing attention
2. consistency
stage help minority influence cause social change
Examples?
- Drawing attention - Minorities draw attention to an issue through social proof or public demonstration. Forcing the public to confront the issue. For example the Suffragettes drew attention to women’s voting rights by organising rallies, chaining themselves to railings etc
- consistency - Social change is more likely when the minority is unwavering and consistent overtime. e.g. the Suffragettes maintained a consistent message across decades demanding political women’s rights despite facing arrests etc
How does
3. Deeper processing
4. The augmentation principle (commitment)
stage help minority influence cause social change and give examples
- Deeper processing - Once attention is gained the message encourages people to think more deeply about the issue challenging their beliefs. e.g. The suffragettes promoted public debate and personal reflection on gender inequality
- The Augmentation principle (commitment)- If the minority appears to be willing to make sacrifices (e.g. imprisonment etc) their message is taken more seriously. For example, The suffragettes were arrested, went on hunger strikes, endured force feeding etc to show the strength of their dedication.
How does the
5. Snowball effect
6. Social cryptomnesia
stage help minority influence cause social change and give examples
- snowball effect - As more people adopt the minority view it gains momentum and eventually becomes dominant or majority viewpoint. For example, the support for the Suffragettes increased across society until parliament passed a legislation granting women voting rights
- Social cryptomnesia - A social change has occurred and people remember a change has occurred but forget the steps, suffering and sacrifices that were involved with the change. For example Women now have rights to vote but fewer recall the struggle it took to get the right to vote
How can conformity research explain factors of social change
Asch’s study highlights how the presence of a dissenter in a group can break the power of the majority encouraging others to dissent. Can lead to social change my showing other viewpoints are possible.
Additionally, Normative social influence can be used in campaigns by informing people of what others are doing encouraging individuals to conform creating social change
e.g. Suffragettes acted as dissenters in a society believing women should not vote
How can obedience research explain factors of social change
Milgram’s obedience research shows how authority figures can influence people to follow orders. So when people see disobedient role models challenging authority social change can be encouraged
Zimbardo suggested the process of ‘Gradual commitment’ how people shift into patterns of new behaviour. Once one small instruction is obeyed its harder to resist obeying to bigger ones encouraging social change
E.g. suffragettes demonstrated role of gradual movement as many women who only initially signed petitions or attended meetings gradually became more and more involved e.g. rioting, getting arrested etc
How can you evaluate social change
- Research support for normative influence in social change
-Methodological issues in social influence research - Barriers to social change: stereotypes and resistance
How would you evaluate social change
(Research support for normative social influence in social change)
There is supporting evidence for the role of normative social influence resulting in social change. Nolan et al. investigated whether people’s energy use could be influenced by the behaviours of others in their community. They found messages referencing what the neighbours where doing led to people changing their behaviour to fit in such as reducing their energy usage with perceived group norms. This supports the idea that majority influence can lead to social change. Enhancing the validity of social change theories. However, other studies such as Foxcroft et al. suggested normative influence alone may not always be sufficient. Limiting the effectiveness of the theory
How would you evaluate social change
(Methodological issues in social influence research)
Much of the key evidence supporting social influence and social change comes from lab-based studies from psychologist such as Ash, Milgram and Moscovici. These studies can be criticised for lacking ecological validity and generalizability e.g. lab-studies may not reflect real life situations or real world changes such as political reform etc. Also, Lab-studies are prone to demand characteristics where participants are only acting in the way they think the researcher wants them to act because they know they realise or know they are being studied not actually being influenced by social influence. Although these theories may offer useful incites they may not be valid enough to apply to real-life wide scale social change
How would you evaluate social change
(Barriers to social change: stereotypes and resistance)
Certain research highlights that minority influence may often be resisted due to social stigma and stereotypes which can act as barriers to change. Bashir et al found participants were less likely to adopt a behaviours if negative stereotypes surrounded them e.g. tree huggers for environmentalists etc. The fear of being associated with the negatively stereotyped group may cause resistance to joining them. This suggests minorities to be effective must present themselves in a way that avoids negative labelling. This research highlights the difficulties that minorities have to go through in achieving real-life social change
