Social Change A01

• The special role of minority influence


  Minority influence is a powerful force for innovation and social change. e.g. civil rights movement in the USA in the 1950s-60s
• Drawing attention

  In order for a social change to occur, the majority must first of all be made aware of the need for the change.E.g: civil rights drew attention by providing social proof of situation- whole south being for whites mainly.
• Consistency


  Civil Rights movement displayed constant messages in their marches and many people were taking part
• Deeper processing


  Majority thinks more about the cause. E.g: People began to question the racist 'social' norms
• The Augmentation principle

  Idea that people should assign greater weight to a particular cause because of showed commitment E.g: Number of people risking their lives like 'freedom riders' on buses
• snowball effect (social change)


  When minority becomes majority.E.g:civil rights activists continued to press for charges that eventually got attention of US government who then passed civil rights act, prohibiting discrimination
• cryptomnesia


  Failure to recognise that our ideas originated with someone else.E.g: People in South don't remember how racism was stopped.
• Dissent

  Dissent has potential to lead to social change
• Environmental and health campaigns


  Exploit conformity processes to appeal to NSI: social change is encouraged by what the majority is doing
• Milgram


  Showed importance of disobedient role models
• Zimbardo


  Suggested social change is created via gradual commitment. When one small instruction obeyed, it becomes harder to resist a bigger one.