social influence; social change Flashcards
What is Moscovici’s conversion theory?
the process and the stages that we go through in order to create social change
What are the stages of Moscovici’s conversion theory?
1) drawing attention to the issue
2) consistency
3) the augmentation principle (commitment)
4) the snowball effect
Outline the first step of social change
Drawing attention to the issue;
-minorities draw the majorities attention to the issue
-different opinion creates cognitive conflict
-majority members think more deeply about the issue
Outline the second step of social change
Consistency;
-minorities are more influential when they are consistent over time
-persistence creates frustration, so the minority needs to find balance
Outline the third step of social change
The Augmentation process;
-the minority will often suffer as a sign of their commitment
-if they suffer, they seem more committed and so will be taken more seriously
Outline the fourth step of social change
The snowball effect;
-the minority initially has a small effect
-this effect spreads more widely until it reaches a ‘tipping point’
-this leads to wide scale social change
-‘social cryptoamnesia’ occurs where people have a memory of something happening but don’t remember how it happened
What is the research study for social change?
Martin and Hewstone (1999)
Outline the research study for social change
Martin and Hewstone (1999)
-found that minority influence leads to more creative and novel judgments than majority influence
-minority influence is therefore a social force for change
Evaluate social change
1) social change is a very slow process
-Bashir(2013) found environmentalists behaved too ‘stereotypically’ and weren’t taken seriously, leads us to question how it is possible for a group to show commitment
2) methodological issues
-lack of ecological validity
-gives us little insight into changes in society
-clearly retrospective, liable for subjective opinions
