Social Change

Question 1

What does social change refer to

Answer 1

The change that occurs in a society and not at an individual level

Question 2

Example of social change

Answer 2

• women gaining the vote
• the smoking ban for public places
  Etc

Question 3

When does social change occur

Answer 3

When the minority view challenges the majority view & is eventually accepted by the majority

Question 4

How can people in power e.g. governments bring about social change

Answer 4

Through the process of obedience
- e.g. by punishing certain behaviours, or changing the law to make some behaviour a social norm
E.g. allowing gay marriage etc

Question 5

What are the 6 steps I’m how minority influence creates social change

Answer 5

1. Drawing attention to the issue
2. Consistency of position
3. Deeper processing
4. The augmentation principle
5. The snowball effect
6. Social cryptoamnesia

Question 6

What’s a strength as the role of social influence process in social change

Answer 6

• research evidence to support the role of NSI in brining about social change (Nolan - 2008)

Question 7

What was Nolan 2008 - whether social influence led to a reduction in the consumption of energy

Answer 7

• he hung messages on the door of houses in San Diego every week for one month
• key message = that residents were trying to reduce their energy usage
• control group = message to save energy without a reference to other residents
• group that referred to other residents = higher decrease in energy usage

Question 8

What are the weaknesses of social influence playing a role in social change

Answer 8

• Nemeth argument that effects of minority influence are likely to only be indirect
• Bashkirs et al (2013) argument that there may be barriers to social change (e.g. environmentally friendly stereotypes etc)

Question 9

What was Bashir Et al?

Answer 9

• how social change can only happen if the minority influence isn’t associated with negative stereotypes.
  E.g. environmentalists known as ‘tree huggers’ so people less likely to be environmentally friendly

Question 10

What was Nemeth (1986) (indirect effect of MI)

Answer 10

They’re indirect because the majority is influenced only on matters at hand, not central issues
& delayed bc the effects may not be seen for some time
- could be a limitation of MI to explain social change as it shows it’s effects are fragile & role limited