Social Influence and Social Change Flashcards
define social influence
the process by which individuals and groups change each other’s attitudes and behaviours
includes conformity, obedience and minority influence
define social change
occurs when whole societies, rather than just individuals , adopt new attitudes /beliefs and ways of doing things
this includes accepting that the earth orbits the sun, women’s suffrage and environmental issues
what is a real world example of how minority social influence creates social change?
the African American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s
in this real world example explain :drawing attention?
drawing attention through social proof:
in the 1950s, black + white segregations applied to all parts of America. there were black neighbourhoods and in the southern states of America , certain schools and restaurants were exclusive to whites
- this civil rights marches of this period DREW ATTENTION to this situation - providing social proof of the problem
in the real world example explain : consistency?
- civil rights activists represented a minority of the American population but their position remained CONSISTENT
millions of people took part in many marches over several years, always presenting the same non-aggressive messages
in this real world example explain: deeper processing?
- the activism meant that many people who had simply accepted the status quo began to think DEEPLY about the unjustness of it
in this real world example, explain the augmentation principle?
- individuals risked their lives numerous times
- for example, ‘freedom riders’ were mixed ethnic groups who boarded buses in the south - challenging racial segregation of transport
- many freedom riders were beaten
- this personal risk indicates a strong belief and reinforces /augments their message
in this real world example, explain the snowball effect?
- activists (e.g. Martin Luther King) gradually got the attention of the US government
gradually more people backed the minority position
in 1964, the us civil rights act prohibited discrimination - marking a change form the minority to majority support for civil rights
in this real world example, explain social cryptomnesia ?
(people have a memory that change occurred but don’t remember how it happened)
social change clearly did come about so the south is quite a different place now
but some people have no memory (cryptomnesia) of the events that led to the change
what did Asch highlight the importance of ?
of the dissent in one of his variations in which the confederate gave the correct answers throughout the study
what did this do to the majority?
it broke the power of the majority - encouraging others to do likewise
-such dissent has the potential to ultimately lead to social change
what do environmental and health campaigners do?
they exploit conformity processes by appealing to normative social influence
they do this by providing information about what other people are doing
- e.g. reducing litter by creating posters saying ‘bin it, others do it’
in other words, what is social change encouraged by?
by drawing attention to what the majority are actually doing
what does Milgram’s research clearly demonstrate the importance of?
the importance of disobedient role models
in the variation where the teacher refuses to give shocks to the learner, the rate of obedience in the genuine participants plummeted
what did Zimbardo 2007 suggest about how obedience can be used to create social change?
he suggested that obedience can be used to create social change through the process of gradual commitment
once small instruction is obeyed, it becomes much more difficult to resist a bigger one
people ‘drift’ into a new kind of behaviour
