4.1.1 Minority Influence

Question 1

Moscovici et al

Answer 1

1969
Two groups all viewed 36 blue-coloured slides of varied intensity
Each group had two confederates
Group 1- confederate said green to every slide, true participants said green 8.42% of the trials
Group 2- confederate said green 24 times and blue 12 times, true participant was in agreement with ‘green’ 1.25%
Control group- no confederates, got it wrong on just 0.25% of the trials
A consistent minority is far more influential than an inconsistent one
Change is at a private level showing internalisation

Question 2

Wood et al

Answer 2

1994
A strength is that there is supporting evidence for the role of consistency:
Wood et al. (1994)
Carried out a meta-analysis of 97 studies of minority influence and found that minorities that were perceived as being especially consistent in expressing their position were particularly influential
This suggests that consistency is important

Question 3

Nemeth + Brilmayer

Answer 3

1987

In fact research with higher mundane realism shows that consistency may not be the only factor that is important in minority influence.
Nemeth and Brilmayer (1987) asked a mock jury, with groups of 3 participants and 1 confederate to decide on compensation for a ski-lift accident.
When the confederate argued for a very low amount and refused to change his position he had no influence
However, when he compromised and moved some way towards the majority position, the majority also changed their view
This also suggest that flexibility is important