Minority influence Flashcards
What is minority influence?
When a minority changes the attitudes/behaviours of the majority through conversion.
What are the stages of conversion?
1) Conflict: making people notice.
2) Understanding: understand minorities position.
3) Persuasion: majority agress with their attitudes (internalisation).
Whose study supports minority influence?
Moscovici ‘Blue slide, green slide’
What was Moscovici’s aim?
Could minority influence the attitudes of the majority.
What was Moscovici’s procedure?
- Used an ambigeous task where answer was clear.
- Ppts had to state whether the slides were blue or green.
- Confederates said the wrong answers.
What were Moscovici’s findings?
- Ppts followed the confederates wrong answers.
- Minorities can influence attitudes of majority when consistant.
What stages strengthen minority influence?
- Consistency
- Commitment
- Flexibility
What is consistency?
Minority keep the same belief overtime.
What is commitment?
Engaging in extreme activities to draw attention.
What are the two types of consistency?
- Synchronic
- Diachronic
What is synchronic consistency?
All been saying the same thing.
What is diachronic consistency?
Saying the same thing for a long time.
What is the augmentation principle?
Majority paying more attention.
What is flexibility?
Adapting viewpoints to accept reasonable counter-arguments.
What is social change?
Minority changing attitudes of society = creating new social norms.
- Done by slowly converting people.
What is the snowball effect?
As people convert the influence of the minority gets bigger + converting at a quicker rate = minority becomes the majority.
What is social cryptonesia?
People forgeting how new social norms were adapted + who they came from.
Who did a study for flexibility?
Nemeth
What did Nemeth argue?
People are more likely to agree with a flexible minority.
What are the limitations of Moscovici’s study?
- Lacks generalisability: small sample size.
- Lacks ecological validity: lab study.
- Unethical: uses deception (may cause stress).
