Lesson 13- Social Change Flashcards
What is Social Change?
Social change- when society adopts new beliefs/ways of behaving 🏃♂- becomes norm
- Result of minority influence- when individual/small group impact upon majority
What are the 5 stages to convert the majority to occupy the minority view?
1) Drawing majority’s attention to issue
2) Cognitive 🧠 Conflict- minority creates conflict between majority current beliefs & minority viewpoint-> majority 🤔 💭 ⬆️ deeply about issue
3) Consistency of position- minority ⬆️ influential when arguments expressed consistently over ⏰ & with each other
4) Augmentation principle- if minority appears willing to suffer for views- seen as ⬆️ committed & taken ⬆️ seriously
5) Snowball effect- minority influence initially small effect BUT spreads- ⬆️ people consider the issue raised until tipping point- majority members move towards minority-> minority ⬆️- ⬆️ momentum-> minority grows into snowball ❄️so large that it becomes majority-> social change
What is social cryptoamnesia?
Social cryptoamnesia- majority knows social change occurred BUT source of change & message itself disassociated through process of social cryptoamnesia- ✖️ recall how it happened- becomes norm e.g. 👩 🗳 - very few 👩 thank suffragettes for 🗳- 👩 voting now normal & expected part of society
Describe a real life example of the 5 stages taking place in history
5 stages- Real Life Example: African-American Civil Rights Movement 🏴🏳️:
1) Drawing Attention- done through social proof – in 1950s 🇺🇸- black 🏴 separation in all parts- 🏴 neighbourhoods & southern states exclusive to 🏳️- civil rights marches drew attention to situation- provided social proof of problem
2) Cognitive 🧠 Conflict- ppl consider race & discrimination as issue-> deeper processing of issue- ppl who just accepted social issue (racism) began to 💭 🤔 about unjustness of it
3) Consistency- many marches & many ppl took part- minority (civil rights activists) displayed consistent message & intent
4) The Augmentation Principle- individuals risked lives- e.g. ‘freedom riders’ 🏍 - mixed racial groups- got on buses 🚎 in south ⬇️- challenged separate seating- ‘freedom riders’ 🏍 beaten
5) The Snowball ❄️ effect- civil rights activists e.g. Martin Luther 👑- pressed for changes- gradually got attention of 🇺🇸 government
- 1964- 🇺🇸 Civil Rights Act passed- prohibited discrimination- represented change from minority to majority support for civil rights
Social Cryptoamnesia- social change occurred & south ⬇️ different place now BUT some ppl have no memory of initial events-> change
What is a real life example which aimed to overcome racism?
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus 🚎 Boycott:
1) 1950s- southern 🇺🇸, public 🚎 segregated- 1st 4 rows of 🚎 reserved for 🏳️
2) Rosa Parks (secretary for local branch of NAACP- National Association for Advancement of Coloured Ppl)
Dec 1st 1955- Rosa rode 🚎 🏠 from work- 🚎 driver demanded 4 🏴 ppl give up seats for 🏳️ ppl- 3 🏴 men near her moved BUT she refused to give up 💺- Rosa ✖️ see why she should have to (augmentation principle- commitment)
3) 🚎 driver- 📞 👮♂ 🚨- arrested Rosa- bailed out of jail by Edgar Nixon (president of NAACP)
4) -> boycott of 🚎 by 🏴 ppl-> changes to 🏴 treatment- effective because 🏴 made up 75 % of 🚎 riders … boycott-> profit ⬇️ (cognitive 🧠 conflict)
5) Flyers announcing 🚎 boycott- support incredible & boycott extended ⏰
6) 🏴churches⛪️ raised 💵- support boycott & collected 👞- replace footwear of Montgomery’s 🏴 citizens- walked everywhere now
7) Boycott lasted 381 days (consistency of position)-> 1956 law passed- allowed 🏴 🚎 passengers to sit anywhere (snowball ❄️effect)
What is a real life example which aimed to overcome only male voting?
The Suffragette Movement 🗳:
1) 👩 began chaining themselves to railings & 5 years later campaign extended to smashing windows (drawing attention)
2) Most determined- 1st to be jailed- Christabel Pankhurst & Annie Kennedy (augmentation principle- commitment)- disrupted Liberal Party meeting-> arrest
3) By 1911- 🇬🇧 witnessed 1st act of suffragette arson 🔥 (orchestrated by Christabel)- argument presented consistently over ⏰- different ways
4) 2 years later Emily Davison 💀 at Derby- put herself in front of 👑 🐎 (augmentation principle- commitment)
5) Prisons filled with 👩 prepared to go to jail for right to 🗳- civil disobedience behind bars- 👩 forced-fed to prevent hunger striking (augmentation principle- commitment)
6) WW1- turning point for campaign- 👨 went to Western Front & 👩 proved how vital they were in fields & armaments 🔫 factories 🏭
7) -> 1918- Representation of the Peoples Act- women ⬆️ 30 right to 🗳 (flexibility shown- compromise)
8) 1928- age qualification abolished- 👨 & 👩 equal
How do lessons from conformity research explain social change in real life?
- Asch’s experiment- 1 confederate gave different answer to majority-> conformity rates dropped even if the answer wrong
- Can-> social change- environmental & health campaigns exploit conformity (via NSI)- give info e.g. ‘bin it- others do’- suggests that majority saving environment & … norm!- encourages others
How do lessons from obedience research explain social change in real life?
Milgram’s research- showed how when 1 disobedient person refused to give ⚡️ then obedience rates ⬇️ dramatically
Zimbardo (2007)- suggested how obedience/disobedience-> social change through gradual commitment (once small instruction obeyed/disobeyed- ⬆️ difficult to resist further instructions)- … social change can happen when 1 disobedient person takes correct decision and others follow
How do lessons from minority influence research explain social change in real life?
Moscovici’s research- need to be committed, flexible & consistent to bring social change- e.g. 💭 about something new- source consistent & passionate- conversion possible- over ⏰ ⬆️ people switch from majority to minority (snowball effect)-> minority becomes majority
State the evaluation of the role of social influence processes in social change
👎- Stereotypes- Bashir et al. (2013)- barriers to social change- pps ⬇️ likely- behave in environmental friendly ways because ✖️ want association with environmentalists- stereotyped as ‘tree huggers’- … suggests social change- only happens if minority influence ✖️ associated with ➖ & extremist stereotypes
👍- Research evidence- Nolan (2008)- consumption of energy- hung messages on 🚪 of 🏠 in San Diego every week for 1 month- key message: most residents ⬇️ energy use- they should too- control group had message ✖️ referring to other residents BUT just to save energy
- Found that group referring to other residents showed ⬇️ in energy use … conformity-> social change via NSI
👎- deeper processing- Mackie (1987)- ⬆️ involved in majority rather than minority influence since if ✖️ agree with majority- we 💭 about why- may ✖️ occur with minority influence- … Moscovici’s research may lack validity- role of minority influence-> social change questioned!
