social influence & social change

Question 1

define social change

Answer 1

• when a whole society adopts a new belief/behaviour, which then becomes widely accepted as the norm
• occurs gradually over time & is when a minority viewpoint becomes a majority opinion

Question 2

how does minority influence create social change (6 steps)

Answer 2

1. drawing attention
2. consistency
3. deeper processing
4. augmentation principle
5. snowball effect
6. social cyrptomnesia

Question 3

definition & example of drawing attention

Answer 3

• highlighting a concern
• requires social proof

eg. civil rights movement - marches drew attention to discrimination/segregation

Question 4

definition & example of consistency

Answer 4

• consistent with messages/position

eg. civil rights activists (such as rosa parks, MLK)

Question 5

definition & example of deeper processing

Answer 5

• consistency allows deeper processing by majority

eg. deeper processing of inequity faced by AA population within america

Question 6

definition & example of augmentation principle

Answer 6

• minorities take risks to further their cause
• demonstrates strong beliefs & reinforces their message

eg. freedom riders

Question 7

definition of snowball effect

Answer 7

• minority receives increasing amount of attention & become supported by greater number of people
• change of minority view to the majority

Question 8

definition & example of social cryptomnesia

Answer 8

• people have a memory that change has occurred but some people have no memory of the events leading to the change
  eg. people born after laws are created have no recollection of what led to the social change where the law was introduced

Question 9

AO3 +) research support for effect of social influence processes based on psychological research

Answer 9

E:
- nolan et al. (2008) aimed to see whether they could change people’s energy use habits
- hung messages on front doors of houses in san diego, california every week for a month
- key message was residents were attempting to reduce their energy usage
- some residents had different message that asked them to save energy but didn’t reference other people’s behaviour (control)
- found significant decreases in energy usage in experimental group compared to control

T: shows conformity (minority influence) can lead to social change through normative influence

Question 10

AO3 +) psychologists can explain how minority influence leads to social change

Answer 10

E:
- nemeth (2009) claims social change is due to the type of thinking minorities inspire
- when people consider minority arguments, they engage in divergent thinking
- this method of thinking is broad, where the thinker actively searches for information & weighs up more options
- nemeth argues this leads to better decisions & more creative solutions to social issues

T: dissenting minorities are valuable, as they stimulate new ideas & open minds in ways majorities are unable to

Question 11

AO3 -) deeper processing may not play a role in how minorities cause social change

Answer 11

E:
- mackie (1987) provides evidence that it is majority influence which potentially creates deeper processing if you don’t share their views
- this is because we like to believe others share our views & think similarly, but when we find out the majority believes something different, we are forced to think deeply about their arguments & reasoning

T: central element of minority influence has been challenged, which casts doubt on its validity as an explanation for social change