Minority Influence

Question 1

Def minority influence

Answer 1

Where one person or a small group of people influenced the beliefs and behaviours of other people

Question 2

What does minority influence usually turn into

Answer 2

Internalisation

Question 3

What is internalisation

Answer 3

Both public behaviour and private beliefs are changed by the process

Question 4

Minority to majority step 1

Answer 4

If you hear something new, you might think about it leading to deeper processing

Question 5

Minority to majority step 2

Answer 5

Overtime, more people become converted to the minority position and the more this happens the faster the rate of conversion known as the snowball effect

Question 6

Minority to majority step 3

Answer 6

Gradually the minority view becomes the majority view and the change occurs

Question 7

3 processes involved in minority influence

Answer 7

Consistency, flexibility and commitment

Question 8

Def consistency

Answer 8

Sticking to argument

Question 9

What are the two types of consistency

Answer 9

Synchronic and diachronic

Question 10

Def synchronic consistency

Answer 10

Agreement between people in the minority group eg ‘they’re all saying the same thing’

Question 11

Def of diachronic consistency

Answer 11

Agreement over time ‘they’ve been saying the same thing for some time now’

Question 12

Description flexibility

Answer 12

Nemeth said being extremely consistent can be rigid and off putting if used too heavily - the key is to get the right balance

Question 13

In terms of flexibility what is the right balance

Answer 13

If minority members can adopt their point of view and accept reasonable and valid counter arguments they’re more successful

Question 14

Description of commitment

Answer 14

Sometimes minroties engage in extreme activities putting them at risk to show commitment. Majority group members lay more attention due to extreme actions known as augmentational principle

Question 15

Key minority influence study

Answer 15

Moscovici 1969

Question 16

Aim of Moscovici study

Answer 16

To see if consistent minority could influence a majority to give an incorrect answer in what was represented a colour perception task

Question 17

Moscovici procedure

Answer 17

Ps were told they were taking part in a colour perception task, the ps were placed in groups of 6 and shown 36 slides of varying shades of blue. The ps had to state the colour of each slide

Question 18

Moscovici findings

Answer 18

In the consistent condition, the real ps agreed with the minority on 8.2% of trials. In the inconsistent condition, the real ps only agreed with the minority on 1.25% of the trials

Question 19

Elaboration of weakness - Moscovici methodology

Answer 19

• used bias sample of 172 female ps from America meaning unable to generalise results. Research suggests females conform more
• artificial task, real life task outcomes a lot more important. Lacks external validity because doesn’t tell us much about minority influence in real life situations

Question 20

Elaboration of strength - research evidence shows importance of consistency

Answer 20

• Moscovici found that consistency had a great effect on people
• Wood did a meta analysis and found that consistent minorities were most influential
• confirms consistency is a big factor

Question 21

Strength -Moscovici

Answer 21

Describe his study and how it’s supportive

Question 22

Weakness - alternative explanation

Answer 22

• Mackie offers an alternative theory
• she says we all like to think others share similar thoughts and viewpoints to ourselves
• as a result, when majority disagrees we spend longer examining their arguments and weighing up evidence
• when faced with mineory that disagrees generally not bothered
• explains low number in supporting research and suggests thus explanation is too simplistic