Social influence and Social change

• There are 6 steps in how minority social influence creates social change:

  1. Drawing attention
  2. consistency
  3. deeper processing
  4. the augmentation principle
  5. the snowball effect
  6. social cryptomnesia
• Drawing attention through social proof-

  Drawing attention is needed so that everyone is focusing on the issue, an example of this is; Emily Davison jumping in front of the king's horse to raise attention for women's right to vote or Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat at the back of the bus
• Consistency-

  Remaining consistent shows the commitment to the cause. For example, multiple marches for the BLM movement showed that they were committed to the cause.
• Deeper processing of the issue-

  People would begin to think deeply about the issue knowing it needed to be changed and things cant stay the way they are.
• The augmentation principle-

  When a minority group takes significant risks for their cause, they are likely to gain more support. The willingness to endure hardships for a cause can elevate a group's influence, as seen in the efforts of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
• The snowball effect-

  As the minority opinion gains traction, it becomes easier for others to join, leading to a snowball effect where the minority view spreads and becomes more widely adopted. This eventually reaches a tipping point, resulting in wide-scale social changes.
• Social cryptomnesia-

  people have a memory that change has occurred but don't remember how it happened