Social Influence in Social Change Flashcards
What is social influence?
It’s the process by which individuals and groups change each other’s attitudes and behaviours. Includes conformity, obedience, and minority influence.
What is social change?
Social change occurs when whole societies adopt new attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours (e.g. civil rights, women’s suffrage, environmentalism).
What is the first step in minority influence leading to social change?
Drawing attention – Civil rights marches provided social proof of the issue of segregation.
What is the second step in minority influenced social change?
Consistency – Civil rights activists consistently maintained their message over time and across many events.
What is the third step in minority influenced social change?
Deeper processing – The public began to question the unjust nature of segregation.
What is the fourth step in minority influenced social change?
The augmentation principle – Activists made personal sacrifices (e.g. the freedom riders), which strengthened their message.
What is the fifth step in minority influenced social change?
The snowball effect – Gradual shift in majority opinion led to legal change, e.g. 1964 US Civil Rights Act.
What is social cryptomnesia?
People remember that a change happened, but forget how it happened or who caused it.
What lesson does Asch’s study provide about social change?
The presence of a dissenter breaks the majority’s power, encouraging others to dissent – this can lead to social change.
How is conformity used in modern campaigns?
Through normative social influence, e.g. messages like “Bin it – others do” or “Most young people don’t smoke.”
What did Milgram’s variation reveal about disobedience?
Seeing a disobedient role model reduced obedience in others, showing disobedience can lead to social change.
What did Zimbardo suggest about gradual commitment?
Obeying small instructions makes it easier to obey larger ones – people drift into new behaviours.
How could conformity help reduce obesity?
Use normative messages like “Most people are choosing healthier options” to encourage behaviour change.
How could obedience help reduce obesity?
Use authority figures to give small, gradual health instructions that people are more likely to follow over time.
What research supports normative influence in social change?
Nolan et al. (2008) – People who received messages that others were reducing energy use used less energy than those given general advice.
What is a limitation of minority influence in social change?
Nemeth (1986) – Change through minority influence is often indirect and delayed, making its effects slow and fragile.
What challenge does Diane Mackie present to minority influence theory?
She argues it’s the majority, not the minority, that causes deeper processing when you realise they hold different views.
What barrier to social change did Bashir et al. (2013) identify?
People resist change because they don’t want to be associated with negative stereotypes (e.g. “tree huggers” or “man haters”).
What advice does Bashir et al. give to minorities seeking change?
Avoid reinforcing stereotypes – it’s off-putting and reduces influence on the majority.
What is a general methodological criticism of social influence studies?
Studies like those by Asch, Milgram, and Moscovici are artificial and lack ecological validity, limiting how well they apply to real-life social change.
