Social change is when a view held by a minority group challenges the majority view and is eventually accepted by the majority. Then, whole societies (not just individuals) adopt new attitudes, beliefs or behaviours.
Obedience in social change:
Members of the government are a minority group that can enact dramatic social change by creating laws
When laws are created, societies change to avoid punishment
Examples include making smoking in public places like pubs illegal, anti-discrimination laws, and regulating behaviour during a pandemic
Normative social influence/compliance:
Behaviours or views can become the norm within a minority group
E.g. recycling, vaping, or fitness in young people; those who go against this norm risk rejection
This norm can then spread to the broader society
Informational social influence/internalisation:
Members of a minority group can provide information to the majority
E.g. the effects of climate change
Wider society changes its behaviour because it accepts this new evidence
Social crypto-amnesia
How society adopts ideas from a minority group; however, once the mainstream accepts these ideas as the norm, the sacrifices made by the minority group in initiating these positive social changes are not acknowledged but are forgotten over time.
