1.9 social influence and social change ❤️

What is social influence?

The process by which individuals and groups change each other's attitudes and behaviors.

What are the steps in how minority social influence creates social change?

1. Drawing attention 2. Consistency 3. Deeper processing 4. Augmentation principle 5. The snowball effect 6. Social cryptomnesia

What did Asch's research on conformity demonstrate?

When one confederate gave a different answer, it broke the power of the majority and encouraged others to do the same, potentially leading to social change.

What is normative social influence?

Encouraging others to do something by indicating that it is the norm, such as ‘bin it - others do’.

What did Milgram's research on obedience show?

That when a confederate teacher refused to give shocks, the rate of obedience of genuine participants dropped.

How did Zimbardo suggest obedience could create social change?

Through the process of gradual commitment, where small instructions lead to greater ones.

What did Nolan's research on normative influence find?

Messages referencing other people's behavior significantly decreased energy usage.

What was one counterpoint to Nolan's research findings?

Foxcroft reviewed 70 studies on normative social influence to reduce student alcohol use but found only a small reduction.

What does Nameth claim about minority influence and social change?

Social change is due to the type of thinking minorities inspire, which leads to better decisions and creative solutions.

What is deeper processing in the context of minority influence?

It's the idea that deeper processing occurs only when majority influences have differing views, leading people to think critically about their arguments.

What barrier to social change did Bashir identify?

Participants were less likely to be environmentally friendly to avoid being associated with stereotypical and minority 'environmentalists'.