Minority Influence Flashcards
A01 minority influence
minority Influence Is a type of social Influence Where members of the majority change their beliefs/behaviours due
to exposure to a persuasive minority
Commitment -a minority that adopts commitment to its position shows Confidence, courage& Certainity in face of a hostile majority.
greater commitment may persuade the majority to take them seriously or even convert them.
Consistency -If the minority is consistent in It’s arguments others consider the argument more carefully. The minority take the role and maintain it over time.
Wood et al carried out a meta-analysis and found out that minorities who are consistent can be particulary Influential
their position.
Flexibility -If the minority are flexible it’s more effective at changing the majority opinion rather than being rigid. The minority need to negotiate rather than
enforce. Being too flexible can be seen as inconsistent and refusing to compromise is dogmatic, being flexible may not necessarily persuade the majority
to shift but is more effective than none.
What is minority influence in social psychology?
Minority influence is a type of social influence where members of the majority change their beliefs or behaviours due to exposure to a persuasive minority.
What is commitment in relation to minority influence, and why is it important?
Commitment in minority influence refers to a minority showing confidence, courage, and certainty in the face of a hostile majority. A greater level of commitment may persuade the majority to take the minority seriously or even lead to conversion to the minority view.
How does consistency affect the effectiveness of minority influence?
If the minority is consistent in its arguments, others are more likely to consider the argument carefully. This means the minority maintains its position over time, which is seen as more credible. Wood et al. carried out a meta-analysis and found that minorities who are consistent can be particularly influential
What role does flexibility play in minority influence?
Flexibility means that the minority is willing to adapt and negotiate, rather than be rigid. This makes the minority more effective at changing the majority opinion. However, being too flexible may come across as inconsistent, and refusing to compromise may seem dogmatic. While flexibility doesn’t guarantee a shift in the majority’s opinion, it is more effective than being completely inflexible.
Moscovi et al study
Key-study: Minority Influence -Moscovici et al
-Investigated the effects of a consistent minority on a majority
- 4 naive pps and a minority of 2 confederates shown a series of blue slides that varied In intensity and were Judged on the color of each slide
-In the consistent condition the confederates repeatdely called the blue slides ‘green’-this was on each trial
-In the Inconsistent condition the Confederates called the slides green on 2/3 of the trial and the remaining 1/3 blue
-In the “control condition which had 6 naive PPs and no confederates, pps called the slide blue throughout
-Therefore the consistent minority influenced the naive pps to say green on over 8% of the trials
-Inconsistent minority exerted very little Influence and didn’t differ from the control group
Conclusion: This shows that minorities can Influence a majority, but not all the time and only when they behave In a certain way (consistent behaviour style)
How many participants and confederates were used in Moscovici et al’s study, and what task were they given?
There were 4 naïve participants and 2 confederates (minority). They were shown a series of blue slides that varied in intensity and asked to judge the color of each slide.
What happened in the consistent condition of the study?
In the consistent condition, the confederates repeatedly called the blue slides “green” on every single trial.
What happened in the inconsistent condition of the study?
In the inconsistent condition, the confederates called the slides “green” on 2/3 of the trials, and the remaining 1/3 of the time, they called the slides “blue”.
What was the control condition in Moscovici et al’s study?
The control condition included 6 naïve participants and no confederates, and all participants consistently called the slide blue throughout.
What were the findings of Moscovici et al’s study?
The consistent minority influenced the naïve participants to say “green” on over 8% of the trials. The inconsistent minority exerted very little influence and did not differ significantly from the control group.
What was the conclusion of the study by Moscovici et al?
The study concluded that minorities can influence a majority, but only when they behave in a certain way—specifically, when they show consistent behavior.
What is the strength of minority influence in terms of flexibility?
Research supports the importance of flexibility in minority influence.
Evidence: In an experiment simulating a jury situation, confederates who were inflexible had no influence, while a confederate who later compromised and showed flexibility was able to influence the rest of the group.
Explanation: This demonstrates that flexibility can be effective in changing the majority opinion in certain circumstances, thus supporting the validity of flexibility as a crucial factor in minority influence.
How is minority influence considered a strength in opening the mind?
Minority influence real value is that it opens the mind and improve decision-making.
Evidence: Research shows that when exposed to a minority perspective, groups search for more information, consider more options, make better decisions, and become more creative.
Explanation: This demonstrates that minority influence leads to better decision quality, suggesting that exposure to different viewpoints improves group thinking and decision-making, thus supporting the validity of minority influence.
What is the weakness of minority influence in terms of message processing?
The majority leads to more message processing than the minority.
Evidence: Studies have found that people believe the minority shares similar beliefs to theirs, so when a different view is presented, they process it more carefully to understand why this discrepancy exists.
Explanation: This suggests that the minority is less influential because people don’t process the minority’s message as deeply as they do the majority’s, which may reduce its impact, thus questioning the validity of the minority’s influence.
Why is minority influence seen as a weakness in real-world scenarios?
Minority influence may only exist in name, not in practice.
Evidence: Research claims that people only superficially accept the principle of minority influence, and quickly become irritated by persistent dissenting views.
Explanation: This shows that the majority view often persists, and the potential for innovative thinking through minority influence is lost, thus questioning the validity of minority influence as an effective long-term strategy.
