the role of social influence processes in social change Flashcards
strength: research has shown the value in studying the role of social influence regarding social change.
E:Nolan hung messages on various doors In California which promoted the reduction of energy usage. some messages stated that other residents were also attempting to reduce their energy consumption in which were more effective.
E:this finding illustrates the power of conformity as a prompt for social change. the messages that included reference to other residents reducing there energy were able to have normative social influence and encouraged the Californian residents to comply. this was conducted as a field experiment and was therefore conducted in naturalist conditions. from this the behaviour observes is more likely to be natural so the research findings can be generalised to real world situations involving social change.
L:therefore, this study provides adequate support that by understanding social influence processes you are able to achieve social change in the real world.
limitation: much of its research lacks ecological validity.
E:most of its research has been conducted in laboratory conditions such as moscovicis research on minority influence which was conducted in controlled condition using artificial tasks.
E:it is very challenging perhaps impossible to replicate social change in a laboratory , so research conducted in these conditions arguably tell us very littler about how these processes operate in the real world. This is not to say real world research into the role of social influence cannot be conducted, they are able to take place through field experiments however the findings may lack experimental control meaning its finings may lack credibility.
L:therefore artificial research into the social influence processes may provide a limited explanation for social change.
another limitation:it is socially sensitive
E: According to seizer and Stanley ,socially sensitive research is research that has the potential for harmful social consequences for participants and social groups.
E:research into social influence processes affecting social change has the potential for beneficial as well as harmful social consequences.it can be said that by understanding the psychological processes behind social change can help activists fighting for worthy causes too campaign more effectively,however this also applies to activists campaigning for more controversial causes. its also possible that authoritarian regimes could make use ion understanding social influence processes in order to stop social change from happening .
L:therefore, researchers investigating the role of social infleucde processes on social change need to examine the possible ethical implications of their research.
