The role of social influence processes in social change
A01
The status quo: the tendency to keep things as they are, conformity and obedience
maintain the status quo
Social change is change that happens throughout a society and not on an individual
level.
Minorities can change the beliefs of the majority through consistency, flexibility, and
commitment.
The snowball effect is when members of the majority are slowly converted by the
minority. As the minority grows in size it attracts new members faster. As the group
grows bigger its legitimacy seems stronger. Eventually it grows so large that it is now
the majority.
The snowball effect is enhanced by Group Membership.
Group membership is when we are more likely to have our views changed by a
member of a group that we belong to and share characteristics with. This could be
age, gender, sexuality.
A process called social crypto amnesia occurs after the social change, where
individuals who previously held the old view refuse to admit that they held the now
unpopular view or resisted the new view. Eventually people forget about the old
view, and about the minorities who changed society.
Governments can bring about social change very quickly by changing the laws and
enforcing them since they are a legitimate authority who therefore ought to be
obeyed.
Smoking in public places such as pubs was common but changed very quickly due to
legal changes and fines
Evaluation
Social change is not always as simple as portrayed above, with many being quite settled in their views and
unwilling to change. Bashir suggests that these social barriers are largely due to the stereotypes which
many have. For example, despite the obvious perks to recycling, many are still unwilling to admit that they
recycle in fear of being labelled ‘weird’ or a ‘tree-hugger’. This suggests that minority influence and social
influence are not always completely effective because they cannot tackle these kinds of issues.
Mackie suggests that the role of minority influence is very limited because we are more likely to change
our own views if the majority view is different to our own, this is NSI as we feel a need to fit in with
society. This is because we often take comfort knowing that so many other people also share our view
that when they don’t, we become unsettled and are forced to change our view
There is research support for the role of majority influence in social change. Nolan et al (2008) hung
messages on the front doors of houses in San Diego, California that either told them that most residents
were trying to reduce their energy usage, or asked them to reduce their energy usage, but made no
reference to other residents. Nolan found significant decreases in energy usage in the first group only.
This implies that residents were more willing to change their habits if they believed a majority of others
had done so too, and therefore demonstrated how majority influence can play a part in bringing about
social change.
A01
The status quo: the tendency to keep things as they are, conformity and obedience
maintain the status quo
Social change is change that happens throughout a society and not on an individual
level.
Minorities can change the beliefs of the majority through consistency, flexibility, and
commitment.
The snowball effect is when members of the majority are slowly converted by the
minority. As the minority grows in size it attracts new members faster. As the group
grows bigger its legitimacy seems stronger. Eventually it grows so large that it is now
the majority.
The snowball effect is enhanced by Group Membership.
Group membership is when we are more likely to have our views changed by a
member of a group that we belong to and share characteristics with. This could be
age, gender, sexuality.
A process called social crypto amnesia occurs after the social change, where
individuals who previously held the old view refuse to admit that they held the now
unpopular view or resisted the new view. Eventually people forget about the old
view, and about the minorities who changed society.
Governments can bring about social change very quickly by changing the laws and
enforcing them since they are a legitimate authority who therefore ought to be
obeyed.
Smoking in public places such as pubs was common but changed very quickly due to
legal changes and fines
Evaluation
Social change is not always as simple as portrayed above, with many being quite settled in their views and
unwilling to change. Bashir suggests that these social barriers are largely due to the stereotypes which
many have. For example, despite the obvious perks to recycling, many are still unwilling to admit that they
recycle in fear of being labelled ‘weird’ or a ‘tree-hugger’. This suggests that minority influence and social
influence are not always completely effective because they cannot tackle these kinds of issues.
Mackie suggests that the role of minority influence is very limited because we are more likely to change
our own views if the majority view is different to our own, this is NSI as we feel a need to fit in with
society. This is because we often take comfort knowing that so many other people also share our view
that when they don’t, we become unsettled and are forced to change our view
There is research support for the role of majority influence in social change. Nolan et al (2008) hung
messages on the front doors of houses in San Diego, California that either told them that most residents
were trying to reduce their energy usage, or asked them to reduce their energy usage, but made no
reference to other residents. Nolan found significant decreases in energy usage in the first group only.
This implies that residents were more willing to change their habits if they believed a majority of others
had done so too, and therefore demonstrated how majority influence can play a part in bringing about
social change.
