Social Influence & Change Flashcards
Social Change - Minority Influence
1) Drawing Attention –> civil right marches draw attention to situation by providing social proof of problem.
2) Consistency –> took part in marches on a large-scale - display consistency of message & intent.
3) Deeper Processing –> ppl who had accepted the status quo began thinking deeply about the unjustness of it.
4) Augmentation Principle –> personal risks strengthen the message.
5) Snowball Effect –> change happens gradually.
6) Social Cryptomnesia –> social change came about but some ppl have no memory of events leading to that change.
Social Change - Conformity
1) Dissenters make social change more likely –> Asch’s variation where one con always gave correct answer - encouraged others to dissent, demonstrating potential for social change.
2) NSI is used to exploit conformity by campaigns - provide info about what others are doing e.g. ‘Bin it - others do’.
Social Change - Obedience
1) Disobedient models make change more likely –> Milgram’s variation with disobedient con who refused to give shocks caused rate of obedience to fall.
2) Gradual commitment leads to ‘drift’ - Zimbardo, once a small instruction is obeyed it becomes difficult to resist a bigger one - ppl ‘drift’ into a new kind of behaviour.
Strength for NSI in SC
RESEARCH SUPPORT for NSI
1) Nolan et al. hung msgs on front doors of homes - ‘most residents are trying to reduce energy usage’ –> caused greater decrease in energy use than control group that didn’t mention others’ behaviour –> shows conformity can lead to social change through NSI.
Strength of M.I
M.I EXPLAINS SOCIAL CHANGE
1) Nemeth says minority arguments cause ppl to engage in divergent thinking –> leads to better decisions & creative solutions to social problems –> shows minorities are valuable since they stimulate new ideas & open ppl’s minds.
