Social Influence leading to social change

• Drawing Attention


  • Through social proof e.g. civil rights marches drew attention to segregation which provided social proof of the problem
• Consistency


  • E.g. being consistent with the marches presenting same message
• Deeper processing


  • Making people think deeper into issue
• Augmentation principle


  • Personal risk indicates strong belief and reinforces their message
• Snowball effect


  • More and more people backing minority view
• Social cryptomnesia


  • People have memory change occurred but don't remember how
• Asch study shows


  Dissenting participants breaks power of majority, encouraging others to do same, this has power to lead to social change
• In Milgram's study


  Obedience decreased when confederate participants disobeyed in giving shock
• Zimbardo's study showed


  How obedience used to create social change through gradual commitment - once small instruction obeyed harder to resist bigger one
• Strength of normative influence research


  • Research has shown that social influence processes based on psychological research do work
• Jessica Nolan et al. (2008) study


  1. Hung messages on front doors of houses in San Diego, California every week for one month

  2. Key message was that most residents were trying to reduce their energy usage

  3. Control group had different message just asking to save energy but no reference to others' behaviour

  4. Significant decreases in energy usage in the first group compared to the second
• This shows that conformity (majority influence) can lead to social change through the operation of normative social influence
• Counterpoint to normative influence


  • Some studies show that people's behaviour is not always changed through exposing them to social norms
  • David Foxcroft et al. (2015) review found only small reduction in student drinking quantity and no effect on drinking frequency
• Using normative influence does not always produce long-term social change
• Strength of minority influence


  • Psychologists can explain how minority influence brings about social change
  • Minorities inspire divergent thinking which is broad and leads to better decisions and more creative solutions
• Dissenting minorities are valuable as they stimulate new ideas and open minds in a way that majorities cannot
• Limitation of minority influence


  • Deeper processing may not play a role in how minorities bring about social change
  • Majority influence may create deeper processing if you do not share their views, as we like to believe others share our views
• A central element of minority influence has been challenged, casting doubt on its validity as an explanation of social change
• People still resist social change, e.g. less likely to behave in environmentally-friendly ways to avoid being associated with stereotypical minority environmentalists
• Despite resistance, researchers were able to suggest ways in which minorities can overcome barriers to social change