Social Changr

Question 1

What is social change?

Answer 1

When a society adopts a new belief or way of believing that then becomes widely accepted as a norm

Question 2

Moscvivi

Aim

Answer 2

To investigate the process of innovation by looking at how consistent minority affect the opinions of a larger group

Possibly creating doubt and leading them to question and alter their views

Question 3

Moscovivi 1969

PROCEDURE

Answer 3

• All female-group of participants were first given an eye test to check they were not colour bind
• Placed in group of four particpants and two confederates
• Shown 36 slides that were different shades of blue and asked to state colour out loud

Question 4

Moscovivi 1969

PROCEDURE

Two groups

Answer 4

• First group the confederates were consistent and answered green every slide
• Second group the confederates were inconsistent and answered green 24 times and blue 12 times

Question 5

Moscovivi 1969

FINDINGS

Answer 5

• In consistent group 6.42% of trails resulted in Particpant answering green (agreeing with miniority)
• 32% of particpants agreed at least once
• Inconsistent group 1.25% of trials resulted in particpants answering green

Question 6

Moscovivi 1969

CONCLUSION

Answer 6

• The study suggested that minorities change the opnion of the majority
• Particulary if they are consistent

Question 7

What are the behavioural characteristics of minority?

Answer 7

• Consistency
• Commitment
• Flexibility

Question 8

What is consistency?

Answer 8

Means minority’s view gains more interest

Makes others rethink their views

Question 9

What is comittment?

Answer 9

Helps to gain attention (e.g through extreme activites)

Activies must create some risk to minority to demonstrate committment to cause

Question 10

What is flexibility?

Answer 10

• Miniority should balance consistency and flexibility so don’t appear rigid
• Adapt their point of view to accept reasonable counter arguements

Question 11

Example of behavioural characteristic

planning a holiday

Answer 11

• Miniroity: Get consistent to constantly talk about the holiday
• Commitment: Going to get travelling brouchures to influence friends , take time in cost , show photos
• Flexibility: Incoperate friends and view holiday plan , suggest beach holiday next year

Question 12

What is snowball effect?

Answer 12

• Process of social change occuring
• Beginning with miniority influence
• Idea/belief starts to gain momentum by more people being influenced until majority have changed their beliefs

Question 13

What is social cryptoamnesia?

Answer 13

• Idea that over time , people forget that originally the social change come from the miniroity and it is now widely accepted as a norm
  *

Question 14

Example of social cryptoamnesia

Answer 14

e.g Homosexuality was an imprisonable offence in UK until 1967 , public attitudes have changed over time and forget about this

Question 15

Explaining why new laws generated?

Answer 15

When minority becomes the majority

People feel pressure to conform to majority

The government eventually intrdouces new laws which people must follow

Question 16

Real life examples

Answer 16

Civil rights activists (e.g Martin Luther King) gradually got the attention of US government

in 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed , prohibiting discrimination - a change from minoriy to majoriity support for civil rights

Question 17

Example Suffragette movement

Answer 17

• LOC: 20 years later John Stuart Mill led unsuccessful attempt to secure vote for women
• Consistency: Women kept chaining and going on hunger strikes
• Flexilibty: Suffragettes agreed to postpone their campaigning to help with war effort
• Commitment: First suffragette arson happened as Emily Davidson died at Derby
• Snowball effect: Prison now filled with women and hunger strike

Question 18

Limitiation minoritiy influence research often involves artifical tasks

Answer 18

• Moscovici’s task identifying the colour of a slide is far removed from how minorities try to change majoritiy opnion in real life
• Jury decision making and politial campaigning outcomes are vastly important , maybe life or death matter
• Findings of studies lack external validity and limited in what the tell us about minority influence works in real-life situation

Question 19

Applications of minority influence research are limited

Answer 19

• Studies make a clear distinction between majoritiy and minoritiy but real-life situations are more complicated
• Differences about more than just numbers. Majorities usually have power and status. Minorities are committed and tight-knit groups whose members know and support each other
• Minority influence research rarely reflects dynamic of these groups so findings not apply to real-life minority influence situations which exert a more powerful influence

Question 20

Strength

Research evidence demonstrates the importance of consistency

Answer 20

• Moscovici et al found a consistent minority opnion had a greater effect on other people than an inconsistent opnion
• Woodet al conduct a meta-analysis of almost 100 similar studies and found minorities seen as being consistent were most influential
• Confirms that consistency is a major factor in minority influence

Question 21

Discuss using evidence how social influence research helps us to understand social change

Answer 21

• Consistency
• Commitment
• Flexibility
• Evidence Moscovoci