social change through minority influence

Question 1

what is social change?

Answer 1

when society as a whole adopts a new belief/behaviour which becomes widely accepted as the norm

Question 2

what are the 5 steps for a minority influence to bring about social change?

Answer 2

1. draw attention to issue
2. cognitive conflict
3. consistency of position
4. augmentation principle
5. snowball effect

Question 3

what is cognitive conflict?

Answer 3

minority creates a conflict between the majority’s beliefs and the minority’s position. majority group has to think deeply about the issues being challenged

Question 4

what is the augmentation principle?

Answer 4

if minorities are seen as willing to suffer for their views, then they are seen as more committed, and taken more seriously

Question 5

what is a limitation of minority influence bringing about social change? (slow)

Answer 5

minority influence cannot bring fast social change. real historical examples such as the sufragettes show that people tend to conform to the majority’s beliefs and maintain the status quo. (eg, votes only for men) and so social change is slow to come about, if it does at all… minority influence is more latent than direct; it creates the potential for social change but doesnt necessarily bring it about. undermines how much influence they have

Question 6

what is a strength of minority influence?

Answer 6

real life applications. for example, the suffragettes were a group in the minority who were able to bring about social change. they followed important processes, such as being committed/consistent/flexibile. they were willing to suffer for their views and so their influence became augmented. eventually, they created wide social change: votes for women
real life applications, shows it is possible for minority influence to bring social change

Question 7

what is a limitation of minority influence bringing about social change? (deviance)

Answer 7

the potential for minority influence to bring about social change is limited because they are seen as deviant (different from norm/majority). people dont want to align themselves with the minority because they dont want to be seen as deviant. the message of the minority would have very little impact as the majority’s attention is on the source of the message (deviant minority) rather than the message itself. questionable how much influence then can actually have