Lesson 12: Social Change

Question 1

What is Social Change?

Answer 1

• Refers to the change that occurs in a society not at an individual level
• Happens when the minority view challenges the majority view and is eventually accepted by the majority
• e.g Civil Rights Movement, Women gaining the vote, LGBTQ+ rights

Question 2

How do Minority groups bring about change

Answer 2

Refer to L11, I’m too lazy to rewrite everything :)

Question 3

How does minority influence spread?

Answer 3

• Through Social crypto-amnesia and the snowball effect, the minority turns into the majority
• The majority accepts the minority viewpoint, and others conform to the viewpoint because of Normative/Informational Social Influence
• Governments can bring social change through power and obedience. Changes in the law make a behaviour a social norm which others adopt
• Dictators also bring social change through power and obedience, leading to people changing behaviour because they fear punishment/consequences of not obeying

Question 4

Evaluation of Social Change

Answer 4

• Blah blah experiment done by Moscovichi - REFER BACK TO L11
• Oh no Beta bias etc. SAME POINTS AS L11
• Minority influence studies involve artificial tasks.
• Minority groups in wider society seek to change majority opinion, and often have very different agendas to these artificial tasks.