Social Influence - Social Influence and Social Change Flashcards
What is the definition of social influence?
Social influence refers to the process by which individuals and groups change each other’s attitudes and behaviours. This includes conformity, obedience, and minority influence.
What is the definition of social change?
Social change occurs when whole societies, rather than just individuals, adopt new attitudes, beliefs, and ways of doing things. Examples include accepting that the Earth orbits the Sun, women’s suffrage, gay rights, and environmental issues.
What are the steps in the process of social change through minority influence?
The process includes:
Drawing attention: E.g., civil rights marches of the 1950s provided social proof of the problem.
Consistency: Many marches and consistent messages showed the determination of activists.
Deeper processing of the issue: People who had accepted the status quo began to think about the reality of the injustice.
The augmentation principle: E.g., individuals risked their lives during the Freedom Rides in the US civil rights movement.
The snowball effect: Civil rights activists like Martin Luther King Jr. gradually gained widespread support.
Social cryptomnesia: People remember that change has occurred but do not recall how it happened.
How does conformity research contribute to social change?
Conformity research highlights the importance of dissent in the process of social change. Asch’s research showed that one dissenting confederate broke the power of the majority, encouraging others to dissent. Environmental and health campaigns exploit conformity processes by appealing to normative social influence, e.g., “Bin it—others do.”
How does obedience research contribute to social change?
Obedience research demonstrates how disobedience can initiate social change. Milgram’s study shows the importance of disobedient role models. For example, in one of Milgram’s variations, a confederate teacher refused to give shocks, and the obedience rate in genuine participants plummeted. Zimbardo suggested that obedience can create social change through gradual commitment. Once a small instruction is obeyed, it becomes harder to resist a bigger one.
What is one evaluation point related to normative influences?
Research by Nolan et al. (2008) investigated whether social influence processes led to a reduction in energy consumption in a community. Messages were hung on front doors every week for one month, telling residents that most others were reducing their energy use. A control group received messages without reference to other people. Nolan et al. found significant decreases in energy usage in the first group. This shows that conformity can lead to social change through normative social influence.
What is one evaluation point about minority influence’s role in social change?
Minority influence is only indirectly effective. Social change happens slowly when they happen at all. For example, it has taken decades for attitudes against drink-driving and smoking to shift. Nemeth argues that the effects of minority influence are likely to be mostly indirect and delayed, as the majority is influenced on matters only related to the issue at hand. This limitation shows the effects are fragile and its role in social change is limited.
What is one evaluation point about deeper processing?
Diane Mackie (1987) argues that majority influence creates deeper processing if you do not share their views. This is because we believe that others think in the same way as us, so if they think differently, we are forced to think about their arguments and reasoning. This challenges the central element of minority influence and may cast doubt on the validity of Moscovici’s theory.
What is one evaluation point about barriers to social change?
Bashir et al. (2013) investigated why people often resist social change, even when they agree it is necessary. Participants were less likely to behave in environmentally friendly ways because they did not want to be associated with stereotypes of environmentalists, e.g., “tree huggers.” This supports the idea that minorities face a barrier to social change in trying to avoid reinforcing stereotypes.
