Social change

Question 1

Requirements

Answer 1

Internal locus of control

Attention

Minority influence research

Augmentation principle

Deeper processing

Snowball effect

Social crypto-amnesia

Question 2

Attention

Answer 2

To challenge a society’s existing views, the minority must draw attention to their issue by engaging in social action

Question 3

Minority influence studies

Answer 3

Research (e.g. Moscovici) shows that minority influence is most effective if the minority presents its arguments with consistency, commitment and flexibility

Question 4

Augmentation principle

Answer 4

Minority is more influential if its members are not seen to be acting out of individual self-interest

Members of the minority are then taken more seriously by the majority because of their commitment to the issue

Question 5

Deeper processing

Answer 5

Difference between views of minority and majority forces majority to think more deeply about minority issue

Although many in the majority may dismiss minority, some may agree with minority view and begin to internalise the minority’s attitudes or behaviour

Question 6

Snowball effect

Answer 6

Support for the minority view reaches a tipping point when the minority becomes a majority

The process of social change snowballs, with wide-scale changes to laws and practices

Those who still don’t hold the new view must obey these laws and will experience powerful normative social influence to conform

Question 7

Social-crypto amnesia

Answer 7

Once complete, people show social-crypto amnesia when they remember a change has taken place but forget the process of social change itself

Society has been through a process of collective internalisation as the majority has come to publicly and privately agree with the views of the minority