Minority Influence

Question 1

What can minority influence help us see?

Answer 1

How social change can occur under experimental conditions

Question 2

What was Moscovici’s aim?

Answer 2

To support the view that a minority are most likely to influence a majority if they are consistent in their views

Question 3

What was Moscovici’s procedure?

Answer 3

6 women participants were told they would be taking part in a colour perception test, they were placed into a group of 4 participants and 2 confederates

Question 4

What were the participants shown in Moscovici’s study?

Answer 4

36 slides that were different shades of blue and asked to states the colour out loud

Question 5

What were the 2 conditions of Moscovici’s study?

Answer 5

1) The confederates were consistent and answered green for every slide
2) The confederates were inconsistent answering green 24 times and blue 22 times

Question 6

What were Moscovici’s findings?

Answer 6

1) Participants agreed with the minority on 8.5% of trials and 32% conformed with the minority at least once
2) Agreement with the minority was reduced to 1.25%

Question 7

What was Moscovici’s conclusion?

Answer 7

A minority has the power to influence a majority and create social change, they are more influential when they are consistent in their views

Question 8

What are 3 evaluation points for Moscovici’s study?

Answer 8

• High internal validity: demand characteristics
• Low ecological validity: cannot be applied to everyday life
• Only female participants

Question 9

What is one of the most important situations in real life where minority influence could occur?

Answer 9

The jury decision making process

Question 10

What was Clark’s Twelve Angry Men study?

Answer 10

He used the jury setting from the film ‘Twelve Angry Men’ to investigate internalisation to consider whether responses might be the same in an experimental condition

Question 11

What did Clark do?

Answer 11

Gave participants a 4 page booklet containing evidence suggesting that the defendant was guilty, he then varied whether or not the students were given information and evidence for the counter argument that the defendant was not guilty

Question 12

What did Clark find?

Answer 12

At various points i’m the risk they were asked about the defendants guilt, they were more likely to accept the minority decision when they heard consistent, persuasive arguements against the evidence for guilt and when they learnt other jurors had defected form the majority position

Question 13

What are 2 evaluation points for Clark’s Twelve Angry Men study?

Answer 13

• Ethical: they all know they were in a study
• No consequences: no one went to prison, cannot be generalised