SOCIAL
INFLUENCE
Social
change
So far in the topic...
In the Social Influence topic so far we have
looked at how an individual’s behaviour is
influenced, in terms of conforming to the
majority and obeying an authority figure.
Social change is to do with how society’s
behaviour (as a whole) can be influenced.
What is social change?
When a whole society adopts a new
belief or way of behaving which then
becomes widely accepted as the norm.
This could be a positive or negative
change.
The role of minority
influence
Social change often occurs due to a persuasive
minority.
What is ‘minority influence?’
A form of social influence where people reject the
established norm of the majority of the group
members and move to the position of the minority
(i.e. one person or a small group).
Real-world examples
Can anybody think of a real-life example of social
change where one person or a small group have
eventually converted the majority to their views or
way of behaving?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Martin Luther King – Black Civil Rights Movement
Nelson Mandela/Rosa Parks – Apartheid –
Racial segregation
The Green Movement (recycling)
Campaign against smoking
Adolf Hitler - Holocaust
Moscovici et al (1969)
Study on minority influence
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•
6 PTs asked to say colour of 36 slides (all blue but
differed in brightness).
2/6 confederates.
Two conditions:
1) Consistent: 2 confederates said green on all 36 trials.
2) Inconsistent: 2 confederates said green 24 times and
blue 12 times.
Consistent condition: PTs said green in 8.4% trials.
Inconsistent condition: PTs said green in 1.3% trials.
There were no green!!!
Minority influential if consistent – key condition for
social change.
Moscovici
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If we went along with the majority all of the
time, there would be no social change.
Minorities aim for CONVERSION: public and
private attitude change (internalisation).
Use informational social influence to persuade
the majority (plant seed of doubt).
Focus on issue, examine argument more closely
and eventually convert the majority to the
minorities view or behaviour.
Conditions necessary for
minority to be influential
A small minority can be influential and
change the majority’s opinion if they adopt
an appropriate style of behaviour.
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Drawing attention to an issue
The role of conflict
Consistency
The augmentation principle
Drawing attention to an issue
•
Being exposed to the views of a
minority draws our attention to the
issues they are addressing.
•
If their views are different to the ones
that we (and the majority) currently
hold, then this creates a conflict that
we are motivated to reduce.
The role of conflict
•
•
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If views of minority are different to the
views of majority, this creates a conflict.
Cannot simply dismiss the minority as
‘odd.’
Conflict remains, motivated to reduce
this.
Examine minorities argument more
closely and start thinking more deeply
about the issues being challenged.
Consistency
•
•
•
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Minorities are more influential when they
express their arguments consistently (over
time and with each other).
They are taken more seriously.
Same position consistently = must believe it
to be true as views don’t change.
Wood et al (1994) – meta-analysis (97
studies), consistent minorities were
particularly influential.
Support from Moscovici et al (1969) – slides.
The augmentation principle
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•
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If there are risks involved in putting forward
a particular point of view (e.g. abuse from
majority) then those who express those
views are taken more seriously.
If members of minority willing to suffer for
their views, the impact of their position on
other group members is increased
(‘augmented’).
Consequently more likely to be influential in
bringing about social change.
Evaluation
Minority influence doesn’t necessarily lead to
social change.
The tendency for people to go along with the
crowd (public compliance) could explain why
social change happens so slowly, particularly as
it involves conversion (public and private
change).
It could be argued that the influence of a
minority is that it creates a potential for change,
rather than actual change itself.
EXAM FOCUS
General questions on Social Change
January 2013: Explain how social influence research helps us
to understand social change. (6 marks)
January 2012: How has social influence research helped our
understanding of social change? (4 marks)
January 2010: Describe how social influence research has
contributed to our understanding of social change. (6 marks)
Mark scheme: general
4-mark questions
1 mark = very brief and flawed explanation.
2 marks = basic explanation.
3 marks = reasonable explanation.
4 marks = effective explanation.
6-mark questions
1 mark = brief and flawed
2-3 marks = basic
4-5 marks = less detailed but generally accurate
6 marks = accurate and effective
Pair task
Fill in the missing gaps for the
exemplar answer to a 6-mark
question on social change.
EXAM FOCUS
Scenario questions
June 2013: A small environmental group wants to encourage
young people to use public transport or bicycles instead of using
their cars. Using your knowledge of the role of minority influence in
social change, what advice would you give to the environmental
group? (6 marks)
January 2011: Using your knowledge of the psychology of social
change, explain why recycling is now behaviour carried out by a
majority of people in this country. (6 marks)
June 2010: Using your knowledge of the psychology of social
change, explain how this social change has occurred (smoking ban
in public places). (4 marks)
Social change scenarios
A02 – Analysis of unfamiliar situation and
application of the psychology of social change
If you are given a scenario in the question, you must relate
your answer to the scenario and use information from it to
get the full 4 or 6 marks!!!
‘To access the top band, candidates must
explicitly engage with the stimulus material.’
Mark scheme: scenarios
4-mark questions
1 mark = very brief and flawed
2 marks = basic
3 marks = reasonable
4 marks = effective
6-mark questions
1 mark = brief and flawed
2-3 marks = basic
4-5 marks = less detailed but generally accurate
6 marks = accurate and effective
Pair task
In pairs, write a model answer for your
scenario question.
1.
2.
3.
Public transport/bicycles.
Recycling.
Smoking ban in public places.
15 minutes, lined paper, all worth 6 marks.
Independent Tasks
Revision of topic
1.
Match the experimenter to the correct study.
2.
Read the statements on ‘locus of control’ and
decide if they are true or false. Correct the
mistakes.
3.
Decide if each term/name belongs to
‘conformity’ or ‘obedience.’