social change

Question 1

processes leading to social change

Answer 1

1) drawing attention
2) consistency
3) deeper processing
4) augmentation principle
5) snowball effect
6) social crypto amnesia

Question 2

drawing attention

Answer 2

using marches, protests etc. to draw attention to the issue

Question 3

consistency

Answer 3

be consistent in the message and over time

Question 4

deeper processing

Answer 4

people start to think about the minority opinion

Question 5

augmentation principle

Answer 5

willing to take risks to show commitment

Question 6

snowball effect

Answer 6

the group slowly gains more authority and grows in number

becomes the majority and causes conformity and obedience to occur

Question 7

social crypto amnesia

Answer 7

many have no memory of how the changes came about

Question 8

example of social change

Answer 8

Suffragettes

Question 9

Suffragettes

Answer 9

1) educational, political and militant tactics

2) continued for 15 years

3) conflict created in minds after being exposed to suffragettes views

4) willing to suffer - hunger strikes, imprisonment

5) group membership encouraged others to join

6) now we don’t remember how women’s votes came about or the events leading up to it

Question 10

social influence research (conformity)

Answer 10

• a single dissenter can create social change
• normative social influence can create social change by drawing out attention to what others are doing

Question 11

social influence research (obedience)

Answer 11

• disobedient peers caused a reduction in obedience
• gradual commitment (‘foot in the door phenomenon’) refers to instances where a person might show some sort of commitment to a particular task
  e.g. starting something and then as they continue it comes harder to back down/change their mind

Question 12

evaluation of social change

Answer 12

normative SI support
minority influence
majority influence

Question 13

normative SI support (SOCIAL CHANGE EVALUATION)

Answer 13

Nolan et al (2008)
- hung messaged on the front doors of houses with the messaged that most residents were trying to reduce their energy consumption
- some residents had a different message that made no reference to other people’s behaviour
- found significant decreases in energy usage in the first group

Question 14

minority influence (SOCIAL CHANGE EVALUATION)

Answer 14

Nemeth (1986)
- claimed minorities encourage broader thinking in majorities
- wider society critically evaluate minority viewpoints and leads to better decision making
- shows dissenting minorities is as important in social change

Question 15

majority influence (SOCIAL CHANGE EVALUATION)

Answer 15

Mackie (1987)
-believed majorities may create deeper processing than minorities if you do not share their views
- it forces us to consider their view more deeply
- suggests minority influence may not be a valid explanation