Role Of Social Influence Processes In Social Change AO3

• Role of social influence

  Minority influence can lead to social change
• Minority influence


  • People use divergent thinking to weigh up new information, which opens minds and leads to social change
  • There are many real-life examples of how a minority can change the views of the majority e.g. Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement
• Minority influence


  Doesn't change societies as much because people didn't want to be associated with minorities e.g. 'tree huggers'
• Normative social influence (NSI)


  In San Diego, they hung notices on doors either asking people to save energy or telling them their neighbours had reduced energy usage. The latter was a more effective method of social change as it reduced energy usage more
• Not all research agrees on the role of social influence in changing social norms - a review of studies aiming to change social norms to reduce drinking in students found only small effects on drinking quantity
• There are real-life examples of how obedience brings about social change e.g. smoking in public places used to be common but has now reduced due to changes in law and fines
• In 2005 smoking in the UK was 25% in adults, the law was changed in 2007, and in 2017 it was 15% - suggesting obedience brought about social change