minority influence Flashcards
define minority influence
a form of social influence where people reject the established norm of the majority of the group members and move to the position of the minority
what type of conformity does minority influence lead to
internalisation
(as public and private beliefs are changed)
what are the 3 main processes in minority influence
consistency
commitment
flexibility
explain how consistency leads to minority influence
the minority must stick to their views if they are going to influence. This leads to the majority thinking maybe they have a point
what are the 2 forms consistency can take
synchronic consistency
diachronic consistency
define synchronic consistency
general agreement between people in the minority group where they are all saying the same thing
define diachronic consistency
over time as they have been saying it for some time now
explain how commitment leads to minority influence
minorities do extreme things to make their point thus showing commitment to the cause. This is known as the augmentation principle as it causes the majority to pay more attention to the point being made
explain how flexibility leads to minority influence
Nemeth (1986)
suggests arguments need to be adapted when counter arguments are presented so the point seems reasonable and valid
explain how the snowball effect leads to minority influence
as time progresses more people are converted so gradually the minority view becomes the majority
what is the research that provides the research support for consistency
Moscovici’s blue/green study
a group of 6 people were asked to view a set of 36 blue coloured slides that varied in intensity and then state whether the slides were blue or green
in each group there were 2 confederates who constantly said the slides were green
participants gave the same wrong answer on around 8.42% of the trials
what meta analysis provides research support for consistency
Wood et al (1947) conducted a meta analysis of almost 100 similar studies and found minorities that were seen as being consistent were the most influential
