Minority Group Influence

Question 1

Behavioral Style

Answer 1

• Minorities influence others through their own behavioral style:
o Propose a clear position on the issue
o Defend and advocate firmly on its position
o Withstand fully the pressure exerted by the majority

Question 2

Consistency of Minority Style

Answer 2

o Based on Asch’s paradigm, but the confederates were a minority (2 persons) who dissented
o Color perception in groups of 6
• A test of color blindness
• P’s were presented with 36 slides all clearly blue, and only varying in intensity
• Asked P’s to name the color aloud
IV: three conditions:
Control (6 naïve participants)
Inconsistent Minority
2 confederates seated 1st and 2nd or 1st and 4th positions and said “green” 2/3 of the time and “blue” 1/3 of the time
Consistent Minority
2 confederates seated 1st and 2nd or 1st and 4th positions always said “green”
DV: % green responses among P’s
RESULTS:
- control 0.5% Inconsistent minority 1.5% Consistent Minority 8.9%
- Even the presence of two people who are saying something different are making people change their mind a little bit
WHY:
Consistent minorities are influential because they:
- Disrupt majority norms
- Draw attention and demonstrate certainty of the alternative point of view
- Highlight that only solution to conflict is adoption of minority point of view
- Consistent minorities make people “think twice”
Conclusion: Minorities have the power to influence the majority
- Minorities are more influential when they are consistent in their views
- When minorities are inconsistent, they can be largely ignored

Question 3

Creativity and Minority Influence Study

Answer 3

o Study of creative word associations as a result of majority versus minority influence
o Six P’s come to the lab at the same time, including 3 naïve subjects and 3 confederates
o P’s were informed they would see a series of 20 slides and make judgments about the color (blue or green)
o All the slides were actually blue
o IV: Divided them into 3 conditions:
• Majority Condition: 80% of previous subjects judged these stimuli as “green” and 20% of subjects judged them as “blue”
• Minority Condition: 20% of previous subjects judged these stimuli as “green” and 80% of subjects judged them as “blue”
• Control Condition: Nothing was told to P’s
o Then, one P and one confederate were paired in a soundproof booth. The confederate and participant were asked to make their judgments with the confederate going first
o The confederate judged all blue stimuli to be green
o Depending on the condition, this judgment was believed to be the standpoint?
o Then, P’s were asked to do a word association task individually, both for the word “green” and the word “blue” –grass, money, etc.
o DV: The number of original associations to the words “blue” and “green”
o RESULTS: If they thought that the confederate was in the minority, they were more original. Exposing yourself to opinions that are from a minority that are new and not common might lead you to think in a more original way because it opens your mind to new ways of thinking.