minority influence Flashcards
define minority influence
describes situations where an individual or small group of people influence the beliefs & behaviours of others
= likely leads to internalisation
who studied minority influence
moscovici et al. (1969) - ‘blue slide, green slide’ study
how is minority influence different from conformity
conformity is when the majority group influences the minority group
aim of moscovici et al. (1969)
to test the influence of consistency on minority influence
procedure of moscovici et al. (1969)
- placed in 6 groups of 4 participants & 2 confederates
- shown 36 blue slides that varied in intensity
- state if blue or green out loud
- 2 experimental groups:
1) confederates were consistent & answered green always
2) confederates were inconsistent = answered green 24 times & blue 12 times - 1 control group (no confederates)
results of moscovici et al. (1969)
- consistent group = gave same wrong answer of green on 8.42% of trials & 32% agreed at least once
- inconsistent group (exposed to inconsistent minority) = 1.25% of trials resulted in participants answering green
- 0.25% of control group responses were green
conclusion of moscovici et al. (1969)
participants are more likely to be influenced by the minority when the answers given are consistent
3 main processes in minority influence
- consistency
- commitment
- flexibility
definition of consistency
minority must remain consistent in their views to increase interest from others & cause them to rethink own views
2 types of consistency
- diachronic = consistency over time
- synchronic = form of agreement between people in minority group
definition of commitment
minorities engage in extreme activities to draw attention to their views, causing majority members to pay greater attention = augmentation principle
eg. militancy displayed by suffragettes
definition of flexibility
members of minority must ensure they’re flexible by being prepared to adapt point of view, or accept reasonable counterarguments
what did nemeth (1986) argue
key is to strike balance between consistency & flexibility for minority influence
what does consistency, committment & flexibility lead to
- cause majority to engage in deeper processing
- leads to conversion to minority viewpoint
- supported by martin et al. (2003)
describe the snowball effect
- the quicker deeper processing occurs, the faster the rate of conversion
- minority view becomes majority view
AO3 +) research supporting importance of consistency
E:
- moscovici et al.’s blue slide/green slide study demonstrated if minority are consistent, their responses can influence the majority (8.25%) compared to inconsistent minority (1.25%)
- wood et al. (1994) also conducted meta-analysis of nearly 100 similar studies & found minorities who were viewed as consistent were the most influential
T: presenting a consistent view is required for minority to influence the majority
AO3 +) research support for deeper processing
-) counterpoint
E:
- martin et al. (2003) showed message supporting certain viewpoint & measured participants agreement
- one group heard minority group agree with initial view, whilst another heard majority agree
- participants then exposed to conflicting view & attitudes measured again
- found people less willing to change opinions if listened to minority group compared to majority group
T: demonstrates how minority message had been more deeply processed & had more enduring effect
HOWEVER: research studies (such as martin et al.) make clear distinctions between majority & minority, within controlled settings
- doesn’t represent real-life social influence situations which are much more complex
- eg. majorities often have more power/status than minorities, which is often absent from minority influence research
T: findings from minority influence studies are often limited in what they can tell us about minority in the real-world
AO3 -) tasks are artificial in minority influence research
E:
- moscovici’s task of identifying the colour of a slide was artificial
- this means research doesn’t replicate how minorities attempt to change behaviours/beliefs of majorities in real life (eg. jury decision-making & political campaigning) where outcomes are of much greater importance
T: findings of minority influence studies often lack external validity & are limited in what they can tell us about minority influence in real-world social situations
