Social Change

Question 1

What is social change?

Answer 1

• Occurs when (sections of) society adopt a new belief or way of behaving which becomes widely accepted as the norm
• e.g. the US Civil Rights Movement, suffragettes

Question 2

What is drawing attention to the issue?

Answer 2

• Minorities can bring about social change by drawing the majority’s attention to the issue
• e.g. the suffragettes used a range of different methods to draw attention the their cause - some were militant e.g. blowing up post boxes while others where political such as holding rallies

Question 3

What is consistency of position?

Answer 3

• When the minority maintains their position the majority may reassess the situation
• e.g. the suffragettes maintained their campaign for voting rights for decades and were unanimous in this cause

Question 4

What is committment and flexibility?

Answer 4

• If the minority is willing to sacrifice their time, effort, and safety, they are seen as committed and taken more seiously by the majority - the augmentation principle
• e.g. the suffragettes went on hunger strikes - risked death for their cause
• They must also be willing to listen to the views of the majority and valid counter arguments

Question 5

What is legal change and obedience?

Answer 5

• Changes in the law to fit in with the minority position mean that it’s seen as more of a social norm that needs to be followed or risk punishment
• This means that obedience acts as a further pressure to change the majority position
• e.g. the suffragette movement led to laws being passed e.g. 1918 Representation of the People Bill which gave women the right to vote

Question 6

What is the snowball effect?

Answer 6

• Gradually over time, minorities gain support as their influence converts more and more of the majority until a tipping point is reached - the minority becomes the majority
• This is when social change has occurred

Question 7

What happens after social change?

Answer 7

• Social cryptoamnesia - society is aware the change has occurred but forgets the origins of that change
• The majority doesn’t give credit to the initial minority for the change taking place
• e.g. although we remember most prominent suffragette figures many don’t know who began the movement

Question 8

How does Wood et al support?

Answer 8

• A strength of consistency as a factor in social change is that there is supporting evidence
• Wood et al did a meta-analysis of 100 similar studies of minority influence and found that consistent minorities were most influential
• This is a strength because it supports that consistency is a major factor in influencing a majority
• As the study is a meta-analysis it represents a broader consensus finding in the field and not a one-off finding
• This gives greater confidence in conclusions made and validates our understanding of consistency as a factor

Question 9

How does Nemeth support?

Answer 9

• A strength of flexibility as a factor is that there’s supporting evidence
• Nemeth studied groups of three PPs and one confederate who had to decide how much compensation to pay a victim of a ski lift accident
• When an inflexible confederate confederate argued for a low amount and refused to change their position they had no effect on the majority
• However, when they compromised a bit and suggested a slightly higher amount, the majority lowered their amount
• This is a strength because it shows that a minority being flexible leads to them influencing the majority more
• This validates flexibility as a factor