social change Flashcards
what is social change
when a society as a whole adopts a new belief or way of behaving which then becomes widely accepted as the norm
what processes can social change involve
social progress
social revolution
what is an eg of social progress
introduction of anti-discriminatory laws and practices
what is an eg of social revolution
removal of a tyrannical regime, breakdown of a communist state
what are some examples of social change
-gender equality- women’s right to vote (suffragette movement), equal pay, sex discrimination act
-racial segregation ended, anti-discrimination laws and practices (civil rights movement)
equality for same sex couples - civil partnership, gay marriage, age of consent, homosexuality no longer classed as a mental disorder or illegal (gay rights movement)
how does a minority produce social change
creating attention
cognitive conflict
consistency- intra-individual, inter individual
augmentation principle
snowball effect
dissociation model
creating attention
deviant minorities draw attention to issues that may otherwise have been ignored by the majority
eg the suffragettes used educational, political and militant tactics to draw attention to their cause
cognitive conflict
-the minority creates conflict between what the majority group members currently believe and the position advocated by the minority
-we are motivated to reduce this conflict
-this leads to the majority to think more deeply about the issues
consistency
minorities are more influential in bringing about social change when they express arguments consistently-both over time (intra-individual consistency) and with others (inter-individual consistency)
eg the suffragettes maintained their position over a number of years and remained consistent in their arguements
commitment
the augmentation principle
-if a minority is seen to be willing to suffer for their views they are seen as more committed and are therefore taken more seriously by others
-through suffering- their impact is increased (‘augmented’)
-eg suffraggettes risked imprisonment or death from hunger strike
snowball effect
minority influence initially has a small effect but this then spreads more widely as more and more people consider the issues being promoted until it reaches a ‘‘tipping point’’- leading to wide scale social change
-eg acceptance of the suffragettes position was gradual
dissociation model
-‘‘social forgetting’’ (social cryptoamnesia)
-the majority dont like to associate themselves with a deviant minority
- as a result minority groups tend to influence the majority over a longer period of time than in majority influence
-over time the minority ideas become assimilated into the majority viewpoint- but the content and the original source become dissociated
-eg coming to accept equal rights for men and women- but no longer associating this viewpoint with a feminist perspective
what has research found in relation to behavioral choices and group norms
-research has consistently demonstrated that behavioral choices are often related to group norms
-people have a strong desire to be liked and accepted by their peers- making it difficult for them to deviate from what they believe the majority position to be
why is the perception (rather than the reality) key
-if people perceive something to be the norm- they tend to alter their behavior to fit in with that norm
eg if students think binge dribking is the norm they are more likely to binge drink
what is an approach to social change known as ‘‘social norms interventions’’
changing peoples perceptions of social norms
