minority influence

Question 1

what is minority influence

Answer 1

a form of social influence in which a minority of people (or one person) persuade others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours
- most likely to lead to internalisation

Question 2

what are the three factors of internalisation

Answer 2

commitment
consistency
flexibility

Question 3

moscovici et al 1969
blue green slide study

Answer 3

procedure
- 172 participants were tested to ensure that they were not colour blind
- in groups of 6 ( 3 participants and 2 other confederates ) participants were asked to state the colour of 36 slides
- all slides were different shades of blue
- condition a: confederates were consistent and called the slides green on all trials
- condition b: confederates were inconsistent and called the slides green 24 times and blue 12 times

Question 4

findings of moscovici

Answer 4

• in control group (no confederates)- 0.25% or participants reported green slides
• in consistent group participants answered green in 8.42% of the trials and 32% of the participants in the group answered green on at least one slide
• in the inconsistent group participants answered green in 1.25% of the trials

Question 5

conclusions of moscovici

Answer 5

• minorities can influence majorities
• strongest when the minority is consistent in their views
• when a minority is inconsistent they are less influential

Question 6

consistency

Answer 6

• minority influence is most effective if the minority keeps the same beliefs
• both over time and between each individual in the group
• research support:
• wood et al
• meta analysis of 100 studies similar to moscovici
• found that minorities who were seen as being consistent were most influential

Question 7

what are teh 2 types of consistency

Answer 7

synchronic- individuals in the group are all saying the same thing
diachronic- they have been saying the same thing for a long period of time

Question 8

commitment

Answer 8

• minority influence is more powerful if the minority demonstrates dictation to their position
• sometimes minority might invlive in extreme activity to draw attention to their views
• these activities need to be at some risk to the minority as it shows commitment
• majority group members become in awe of the lengths the minority will go
• this is called teh augmentation principle

Question 9

flexibility

Answer 9

• relentless consistency may become ineffective if it is seen by the majority as unbending or unreasonable
• minority influence is more effective if the minorities shows flexiblity by accepting the possiblity of a compromise
• members of the minority need to be prepared to adapt their view and accept reasonable and valuable counter arguments

Question 10

the process of change

Answer 10

• if you hear a new piece of info from a minority, it makes you stop and think
• especially if the view is consistent and passionate
• this results in deeper processing
• over time increasing numbers of people will switch from the majority to the minority
• the more that this happens, the faster the rate of conversion
• the snowball effect- the minority eventually becomes the majority