social change

• Consistency - displaying consistency of viewpoint and intended outcome is beneficial in bringing about social change, as a consistent message appears more credible and can help to convince a majority
• Deeper processing - the more people think about the issue at hand, rather than blindly accepting it, the more they will be able to challenge the existing social norms and bring about change
• Drawing attention - in order for a social change to occur, the majority must first be made aware pf the need for change
• The augmentation principle - when the majority pays attention to selfless and risky actions being taken by the minority group and is more likely to integrate the groups opinion into their own personal viewpoints due to the personal sacrifice by the minority
• The snowball effect - once the minority viewpoint has got the attention of some of the majority group, more and more people begin paying attention to the minority's viewpoint, giving it momentum
• Social cryptoamnesia - the majority knows that a social change has occurred but the source of the change and the message itself have become disassociated and they of not recall how it has happened
• Gradual commitment - once a small instruction has been followed, it is harder for larger requests to be declined
• Social change refers to how, over time, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of a society are replaced with new norms and expectations.
• AO3. Minority influence can sometimes act as a barrier to social change. Bashir found that some minority groups such as environmental activists or feminists often have negative stereotypes associated with them, which can be off putting for outsiders. This can means that the majority often does not want to be associated with the minority in fear of being stereotypically labelled.
• AO3. There is research support for the role of normative social influence as a process for social change. Nolan conducted a study in California involving hanging messages on people's front doors encouraging them to reduce energy consumption by indicating that most people in the neighbourhood already were. A control group received a message about reducing energy but no reference to others. The experimental group significantly lowered their energy consumption.
• AO3. Methodological issues may undermine the links between social influence processes and social change. For example many of the studies providing an explanation for social change, such as those conducted by Asch, Milgram and Moscovici can be criticised for things like low generalisability and demand characteristics. This means that there are doubts about the validity of some of the processes involved in social influence.
• AO3. Reports of social change within society can involve concepts that haven't or cannot be tested empirically, meaning they lack scientific credibility. This means that an idiographic approach is usually taken, as there is a large amount of subjective interpretation involved in explaining the occurrences of social change.