strengths

• real world evidence 


  -evidence supporting behavioural styles of minorities bringing about social change

  -climate change

  -gay rights...
• conformity influencing social change

  -social change can occur when majority influences minority through normative social influence

  -passive process

  -unanimous group more likely to bring about social change (conformity 32%>5% when dissenter present)

  -larger group have more influence (32% with group of 6 > 12.8% with 2)
• support for role of conformity in social change

  -month long study in California

  -experimental group: messages hung on people's front doors encouraging them to reduce energy consumption by saying other residents doing this

  -control group: some houses received messages about energy use but no mention of other residents

  -experimental group significantly reduced energy consumption

  -conformity leading to positive change
• obedience process influencing social change (disobedience)


  -disobedient role models can bring about social change

  -Milgram's study with 2 disobedient allies who refused to give shock, disobedience dropped to 10%
• obedience process influencing social change (obedience)


  -obedience can bring about social change through graduated commitment

  -once small instruction obeyed, becomes more difficult to resist bigger ones

  -'drift' into new kind of behaviour