| What is social change? | Rerfers to how, over time, belief, attitudes and behaviours of a soceity are replaced with new norms and expectations.
Occurs when whole societies rather than just individuals. |
| What is the acnomynm for minority influence creating social change? | Dont Climb Down A Steep Slope |
| What does 'Don't refer to in the acronymn ? | Drawing close attention to the issue: Minorites can bring about social change by drawing attention to the issue |
| What does 'climb' refer to in the acronymn ? | Consistency: Reserach found that minority influence tend to be more influential in bringing social change when they express their arguments consistently |
| What does 'Down' refer to in the acronymn ? | Deeper processing: if the opinons of the minority are different to the majority, this will create a conflict that they are motivated to reduce by engaging in deeper processing about the issue being challenged. |
| What does 'a' refer to in the acronymn ? | The Agumentation principle: if minority is willing to suffer for their views, and make a personal sacrifice, they are seen as committed to their viewpoint and are taken more seriously by the majority. |
| What does 'steep' refer to in the acronymn ? | The snowball effect: minority influence has a small effect initially, but this spreads as more of the majority considers the viewpoint and the message gather momentum until it creates a wide-spread change. |
| What does 'slope' refer to in the acronymn ? | Social cryptoamnesia: people have a memory of a social change occurring but do not know how it happened. |
| How does social change happen with NSI | People change their behaviour in order to 'fit in' with a group, they don't want to be rejected by them, happens in a group situation |
| How does social change happen with ISI? | There is information about a certian type of social change, eg: effects of smoking on health, people are convinced by the evidence and internalise them. |
| How does social change happen with obedience (1) | Legitimate authority: if a law or a rule has been implemented from a legitimate authority, this can influence people's behaviour. |
| How does social change happen with obedience? (2) | This can come from the police or the government, they tell people directly and due to their authority people will follow the rules. |
| How does social change happen with obedience? (3) | People don't want to get punished for breaking the law or rule, therefore act in the acceptable way which creates social change. |
| What is a weakness of social change? | Many of the reserach, like Asch,Milgram and Moscovici can be criticised for issues in their methodology, ranging from low generlisability to demand characteristics
Since its a lab experiment, lack of mundane realism, eg task with lines, and don't reflect real life examples of social change, which are more complex
Therefore undermines the linkes drawen between the social influence processes and social change. |
| A weakness of social change? | Research shows that there are barriers, especially with minoirty influence. Bashier et al investiaged why people resist, even when they agree that its necessary.
Found that ppts less likley to behave in an enviornmentally way bc they don't want to be associated with stereotypial 'environmentalists', describing them as 'tree huggers'.
Advised minorites to avoid acting in a stereotypical way to avoid reinforcing the stereotype, shows that barriers can be reduced to increase the likelihood of change. |
| A weakness of social change? | Minority and majority infuence can involve different levels of cognitive processing.
Moscovici believed that minoirty viewpoint forces the individual to think deeply abt the issue but Mackie counters and suggests the oppostie. That the majority makes us thinking differenly, and forced to think more deeply about the issue.
Casts doubt to the validity of Moscovici's research, due to the eviedence against the central element of the theory. |
| Strength of social change? | Reserach support for the role of NSI conducted by Nolan.
1 month in California, hanging messages on the door of ppl's houses in San Diego, encouraging to reduce energy comsumption, saying that other residents in the neighbourhood did this.
Control group - ask to reduce energy consumption but no mention of the neighbourhood.
Found that the experimental group had lowered their energy,as they wanted to 'fit in' with the majroity, showing that conformity can lead to social change. |
