Social Change Flashcards
(8 cards)
What is social change ?
Social change : the process of whereby a whole society adopts a new set of attitudes and behaviours. These attitudes and behaviours eventually become accepted as the norm. These changes can be positive or negative
What is social change through minority influence ?
Social change through minority influence :
• Drawing attention - places such as certain schools and restaurants in the southern states were exclusive to whites - civil right marches ‘drew attention’
• Consistency - people took part in the marches on a large cable - even though it was a minority of the American population , they displayed consistency of message and intent
• Deeper processing - this activism meant that many people who had accepted the status quo began deeply thinking about the unjustness of it
• Augmentation principle - if a minority appears willing to suffer for their views they are seen as more committees and so take seriously by others
• The snowball effect - it initially has a relatively small effect but this then spreads more widely as more and more people consider the issues being prompted , until it reaches a ‘ tipping point
What is social change through majority influence ?
Social change through majority influence :
• Perceived norms - behavioural choices are closely linked to group norms , if someone perceives a behaviour to be a norm they alter themselves to fit the perceived norm
• Social norms interventions - this typically starts by identifying a widespread misperception relating to a specified risky behaviour within a target population
• ‘Most of us’ - this was designed to reduce drinking and driving amongst young adults , they found that most young people assumed that all friends drank and drove like the most of us but after changing this to them not it was reduced
What is one strength of the social change explanation ?
P - One strength is support for normative influence in social change
E - Nolan et al hung messages on front doors of houses. The key messages was most residents are trying to reduce energy usage. Significant decreases in energy use compared to control group who saw message to save energy with o reference to other people’s behaviour
E - This shows conformity can lead to social change through the operation of NSI
What is another strength of the social change explanation ?
P - Another strength is that minority influence explains social change
E - Nemeth says that minority arguments cause people to engage in divergent thinking. This thinking leads to better decisions and creative solutions to social problems.
E - This shows that minorities are valuable because they stimulate new ideas and open people’s minds.
What is a limitation of the social change explanation ?
P - One limitation is deeper processing may apply to majority influence
E - Mackie disagrees with the view that minority influence causes individuals in the majority to think deeply about an issue. Majority influence creates deeper processing because we believe others think as we do. When a majority thinks differently , this creates pressure to think about their views.
E - Therefore , a central element of minority influence has been challenged , casting doubt on its validity as an explanation of social change.
What is another strength of the social change explanation ?
P - One strength is barriers to social change
E - he steps involved in the process of social change provide practical advice for minorities wanting to influence a majority. Even so, majorities still often resit change because they find the minority unappealing. But ven this can be counteracted
E - This shows that minority influence research does provide practical applications that eventually influence majorities to change.
What is one strength of the social change explanation ?
P - One strength is that there is real world scenarios where it has been applied
E - For instance , the suffragette movement started as a majority where they were campaigning for a social change that allowed women to vote. This then had the snowball effect where it turned into a majority and eventually allowed women to vote by the end
E - This shows that the minority influence does allow for social change
