PSYC 4800

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PSYC 4800

• Social Change

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Change is good, but I prefer dollar bills!

• Change is inevitable but our approach to change
  can vary
• Change can either be reactive or proactive
• Modulative reactive
• Generative proactive
• Change can be superficial or systemic
• First-order
• Second-order

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Would you like to change your order?

• First-order change
• Superficial adaptations to address the problem
• Ignores system level factors that contribute to
  the problem
• Second-order change
• System level changes that redefines relationships
  and contingencies
• Less probability of resorting back to status-quo

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Making Change

• Thinking outside of the box
• Expanding worldview
• Balancing the cost and benefits
• Consciousness raising
• Super-ordinate goals
• Patience with zeal

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Thinking Outside of the Box

• Change requires changing assumptions
• Contact
• Crises
• Change require new actions
• Non-violence movement
• Hunger strikes
• Truth.com
• You Tube
• 2008 Presidential Election

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Worldview

• Mindscape
• Ideas, beliefs, attitudes and values that guide
  behaviors
• Western mindscapes
• Just World Hypothesis
• Social Darwinism
• Survival of the fittest
• Change flows from a mindscape that appreciate
  social equality

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Cost and Benefits

• Change costs and the investment must be worth the
  outcome
• Types of costs
• Tangible
• Money (change for a dollar), time, life, health
• Psychological
• Anxiety, Stress
• Types of benefits
• Tangible
• More resources
• Psychological
• Empowerment, Harmony

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Consciousness Raising

• Oppression can maintain itself through
  perpetuation of ignorance and fear
• Internalized oppression
• Educating the targets on how oppression affects
  them is the method for combating the
  psychological hold of oppression
• Consciousness raising

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Super-ordinate Goals

• Common goals unify
• In order for change to occur unification is
  necessary
• Divide and conquer is the method of choice for
  oppressors
• Horizontal hostility
• Hatred/oppression of own group

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Divide and Conquer

• Tokenism
• Allowing target group limited access to distract
  from oppressive practices that continue to limit
  access
• Research has consistently shown that it
  undermines unity
• Executive versus Burger King

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Patience Zeal

• Social change is crucial but it will not come
  overnight
• Although zeal (commitment, passion) is necessary
  to inspire social action, the results from our
  action (which typically will maintain that
  inspiration) may be few and far between
• Thus, social action requires us continue to
  fight for change even when the rewards are not
  present