minority influence

Question 1

what is minority influence?

Answer 1

a form of social influence where members of the majority group change their beliefs or behaviours as a result of their exposure to a persuasive minority. it creates a conversion process, tending to be deeper and longer lasting as people have internalised the minority’s point of view.

Question 2

what are the three behavioural styles in order to persuade the minority’s point of view?

Answer 2

Research suggests that minorities must adopt a particular behavioural style of being consistent, committed and flexible in their arguments.

Question 3

consistence

behavioural style

Answer 3

if the minority adopts a consistent approach, provided there is stability in the expressed position over time and agreement among different members of the minority, others come to reassess the situation and **consider the issue more carefully. **

Question 4

commitment

behavioural style

Answer 4

commitment is important in the influence process because it suggests certainty, confidence and courage in the face of a hostile majority. thus, **the greater the perceived commitment, the greater the influence. **

Question 5

flexibility

behavioural style: mugny 1982

Answer 5

mugny (1982) suggests that flexibility is more effective at changing majority opinion than rigidity of arguments. because minorities are typically powerless compared to the majority, they must negotiate their position with the majority rather **than try to enforce it. **

Question 6

how is flexibility useful in relation to mugny’s views?

rigid v flexible

Answer 6

mugny distinguished between rigid and flexible negotiating styles, arguing that a rigid majority that refuses to compromise risks being perceived as dogmatic. however, a minority that is too flexible and too prepared to compromise risks being seen as inconsistent.

Question 7

the study on minority influence

Answer 7

moscovici et al 1969 demonstrated minority influence in a study where 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 consistently said the slides were green on 2/3 of the trials.

Question 8

the findings

moscovici et al 1969

Answer 8

his findings demonstrate, that although levels of conformity are nowhere near as great with majority influence, a consistent minority is far more influential than an inconsistent one whereby influencing the naive participants to **say green on over 8% of trials. **

Question 9

evaluation points

Answer 9

oversimplification of real-life social influence situations (majority v minority)

research support for depth of thought & tipping point for commitment.

Question 10

Within research studies…

Majority v minority

The positive

Answer 10

Research studies often emphasise a clear distinction between the majority and the minority, a strength particularly evident in controlled settings of minority influence research.

Question 11

The limitation

The oversimplification of real-life social influence situations.

Answer 11

However, a notable limitation arises from the oversimplification of real-life social influence situations. Beyond mere numerical differences, the dynamics between a minority and a majority are intricate. Majorities typically wield more power and status, while minorities, facing significant opposition, demonstrate high levels of commitment to their causes.

Question 12

Evidence

Limitation: oversimplification of real-life social situations.

Answer 12

For example, Nemeth 2010 claims that it is still difficult to convince people of the value of dissent. People accept the principle only on the surface i.e. they appear tolerant, but quickly become irritated by a dissenting view that persists.

Question 13

Evidence

More

Answer 13

They may also fear creating a lack of harmony within the group by welcoming dissent, or be made to fear repercussions, including being ridiculed by being associated with a deviant point of view.

Question 14

Consequence

Limitation: oversimplification of real-life social influence situations

Answer 14

Consequently, this perpetuates the dominance of the majority view and results in missed opportunities for the innovative thinking associated with minority influence. This limits the usefulness of this study, because…

Question 15

Strength

Research support for depth of thought

Answer 15

A notable aspect of this study lies in the research support for the depth of thought. Research findings indicate that transitioning to a minority position entails deeper consideration of ideas. This is exemplified by the work of **Martin et al. (2003), **wherein participants were presented with a message advocating a specific viewpoint, and their support was measured.

Question 16

Martin et al 2003

Continued

Answer 16

Subsequently, one group heard a minority group agree with the initial perspective, while another group heard this from a majority group. Following exposure to a conflicting viewpoint, **attitudes were reassessed. **

Question 17

Findings of Martin et al 2003

Research support for depth of thought

Answer 17

**Martin et al. **discovered that individuals were less inclined to change their opinions if they had been exposed to a minority group compared to those who shared the perspective with a majority group. This implies that the minority message underwent more extensive processing and had a more enduring effect, thereby **substantiating the central argument about how the minority influence process works. **

Question 18

Xie et al 2011

A tipping point for commitment

Answer 18

Furthermore, **Xie et al. (2011) **discovered a **‘tipping point’ **where the number of people holding a minority position becomes sufficient to change majority opinion. The study concluded that the percentage of committed opinion holders **necessary to ‘tip’ the majority into accepting the minority position was just 10%. **