Role of social influence processes in social change

Question 1

what is social change?

Answer 1

the way in which society develops, through big shifts in people’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviours

Question 2

what is the main driving force for social change?

Answer 2

minority influence - their opinions slowly winning over the majority until it becomes a social norm

Question 3

give examples of positive social change

Answer 3

increased rights for women in western cultures through the 1900s

Question 4

give examples of negative social change

Answer 4

adoption of eugenic beliefs - seeing different races as genetically inferior - eg nazis

Question 5

what is majority influence’s main role?

Answer 5

to maintain social order - so people know what behaviour and attitudes are expected of them and stick to them but can be broken down over time by minority influence

Question 6

what is critical mass?

Answer 6

minority viewpoint becomes the mainstream and the majority will begin to conform to the new viewpoint through compliance - but people may still privately hold their original beliefs

Question 7

what is good about social change occurring slowly?

Answer 7

it allows for change to occur in a manner that isn’t too disruptive to social order, rapid change would cause conflict - slow change allows for new ideas to be road-tested to check their suitability for mainstream society

Question 8

what is the procedure for Martin, Hewstone and Martin’s research on social change?

Answer 8

48 British uni students who had an attitude of being supportive of voluntary euthanasia received 2 messages - 1 gave arguments against voluntary euthanasia & supported by majority/minority influence - 2nd gave arguments for voluntary euthanasia

Question 9

what are the findings for Martin, Hewstone and Martin’s research on social change?

Answer 9

attitudes following minority support for the pro-attitudinal message were more resistant to change following the counter-attitudinal message than if the pro-attitudinal message had been given majority support

Question 10

what are the conclusions for Martin, Hewstone and Martin’s research on social change?

Answer 10

minority influence creates systematic processing of its views, leading to attitudes that are resistant to counter-persuasion

Question 11

evaluate Martin, Hewstone and Martin’s research on social change

Answer 11

the results support the idea that minority influence can lead to social change as systematic processing will cause changes in belief systems