Social Change

Question 1

What is social influence

Answer 1

The process by which individuals and groups change each other’s attitudes and behaviours

Question 2

What is social change

Answer 2

This occurs when whole societies, rather than just individuals, adopt new attitudes, beliefs and ways of doing things e.g women’s suffrage and gay rights

Question 3

Step 1 - drawing attention

Answer 3

Activities such as civil right marches draw attention to the situation by providing SOCIAL PROOF

Question 4

Step 2- consistency

Answer 4

Civil rights activist displayed consistency of the message and intent

Question 5

Step 3. Deeper processing

Answer 5

The attention that was given meant that many people who had simply accepted the status quo began to think about the unjustness

Question 6

Step 4. Augmentation principle

Answer 6

People risk their lives

Question 7

Step 5. Snowball effect

Answer 7

The gradual change from minority to majority to support ‘civil rights’

Question 8

Step 6. Social cryptomnesia

Answer 8

People have a memory that the change occurred but don’t remember how it happened

Question 9

Evaluation- research support for normative influences

Answer 9

Nolan et al (2008)
Found significant decrease in energy usage in the first group.
-hung messages on the front doors to try encourage people to decrease their energy usage
- social change occurs because of normative social influence

Question 10

Evaluation- minority influence is only indirectly effective

Answer 10

Happens very slowly
Nemeth (1986)
-minority influence are likely to be mostly indirect and delayed.
-suggests that it’s effects are fragile and it’s role in social influence is very limited

Question 11

Evaluation of role of deeper processing

Answer 11

Mackie (1987)
States that actually majority influence causes more of a deeper processing if you do not share their views
-this challenges the central role of minority influence