social change

• when does it occur?

  when whole societies adopt new attitudes, beliefs & way of doing things
• minority influence + social change

  -minority groups play important role in facilitating social change

  -by influencing whole society to change its attitudes, behaviours & beliefs
• how does it occur?

  -behavioural style (flexible, committed, consistent, persuasive)

  -snowball effect

  -zeitgeist
• snowball effect


  -minority slowly becomes majority
• zeitgeist 


  -'spirit of the time'

  -often delay before minority position becomes accepted

  -happens when society ready for change to occur
• consistency example


  -MLK & Nelson Mandela led civil rights movements

  -consistent in views against apartheid for many years
• commitment examples


  -Rosa Parkes knew she was risking arrest when refusing to give bus seat to white man > triggered end of racial segregation

  -Suffragettes risked imprisonment & death for those on hunger strike > influenced others to reconsider & eventually woman gained right to vote
• persuasiveness example


  -smoking ban campaign used medical evidence

  -show how damaging smoking & passive smoking is for health

  -some flexibility as smoking still allowed outside
• snowball effect examples


  -gay rights

  > over time more & more people began to accept homosexuality

  -majority now believe in equal rights
• zeitgeist example


  -recycling

  > society now very aware of problems with rubbish

  > many didn't recycle in the past and now understand importance to do so
• key example of social change

  climate chance activism
• climate change - consistency

  -consistently making same argument for decades

  -planet's resources & ability to sustain life slowly being degraded

  -consistent in methods too

  -protests & causing inconvenience to business/consumerist operations
• climate change - commitment

  -attending protests

  -taking time out work, education & personal lives to march

  -block roads showing willing to give time & effort

  -risk arrest

  -their message that reversing climate change is something in benefit of everyone in long term
• climate change - persuasiveness 


  -use widely published data

  -backed up by vast majority of scientists as accurate

  -say reversing climate change will benefit everyone

  -Greta Thunberg > charismatic leader able to get people to listen to her passionate beliefs
• climate change - flexibility

  -reversing CC not overnight instant change

  -small victories achieved along the way

  -governments using renewable energy, creation of hybrid/fully electric cars, government planning to phase out selling brand new petrol/deisel cars
• climate change - snowball effect


  -people willing to actively prevent climate change slowly grown as group

  -not overnight change

  -still currently happening as more people taking steps to reduce carbon footprints
• climate change - zeitgeist

  -people come to care more about climate change

  -feeling the effects of global warming, species becoming extinct, rising fuel prices

  -government getting businesses to care about climate > creating schemes & offering support to companies who seek to reduce carbon footprint