Social Influence - Social Change Flashcards
What is the definition of social change?
This occurs when whole societies rather than just individuals adopt new attitudes beliefs or ways of doing things.
What is social influence?
The process by which individuals and groups attitude and behaviours.
What is the pneumonic don’t climb down a steep slope?
D - drawing attention.
C - consistency.
D - deeper processing.
A - augmentation principal.
S - snowball effect
S - social crypto amnesia.
In terms of social change through minority influence what is drawing attention?
Using social proof to draw attention. E.g suffragettes used education.
In terms of social change through minority influence, what is consistency?
Consistency of message and intent, e.g. the suffragettes were consistent in their view regardless of the attitude of those around them.
In terms of social change through minority influence, what is deeper processing?
The minority create a conflict in what the majority currently believes and the position advocated by the minority makes people think about the problem that they had previously accepted without thinking about it at all.
In terms of social change through minority influence, what is the augmentation principle?
If a minority influence appears to suffer for their views, they will be seen as car more committed and be taken more seriously e.g. suffragette were willing to be imprisoned or or risk their lives.
In terms of social change and minority influence of what is the snowball effect?
The minority initially has a small effect, but then it spreads until it reaches a tipping point and then leads two wide scale social change like-minded individuals come together to form minority they influence others through the three behavioural styles and gain more numbers slowly to become the majority.
In terms of social change and minority influence, what is social crypto amnesia?
People have a memory that change has occurred, but don’t remember how it happened.
What is meant by consistency?
When a minority repeatedly gives the same message, this makes a majority reassess their belief and consider the issue more carefully.
What is commitment?
When a minority shows they are willing to give up something for their belief, the majority take their argument more seriously.
What is flexibility?
When are minority shows they are willing to listen to other viewpoints the majority listen to their point of view and take their argument more seriously.
What is the social norms approach?
If people perceive something to be a norm, they tend to hold their behaviour to fit that norm.
Give limitation of research into minority influence
Methodological issues – explanations of social change draw ability upon the studies of Moscovitch Asch and Milgram - they were all lab experiments artificial lacking mundane realism do not reflect real life examples - lacking ecological validity must be generalised with caution.
What is a strength in normative influences in creating social change?
There is research support – Nolan et al (2008) found significant decreases in energy used when households were told that most residents were trying to reduce their energy usage rather than the control group who were just told to save their energy - conformity can lead to social change to normative social influence as people decrease their energy usage in order to fit in.
