minority influence

Question 1

what is minority influence?

Answer 1

a form of social influence where the members of the majority group change their belief/behaviour as a result of exposure to a persuasive minority

Question 2

what does minority influence create?

Answer 2

it creates a conversion process, where people scrutinise the message itself. people want to understand why the minority have this position. conversion tends to be deeper and longer-lasting, as people have internalised the message

Question 3

what are the 3 important factors for minority influence to be influential?

Answer 3

1. consistent: at first exposure, people assume the minority are wrong, however if they have a consistent approach, people reassess and reconsider. Wood et al conducted a meta-analysis of 97 studies of minority influence and found that the most influential were the ones were most consistent
2. committed: important because it shows courage, certainty and confidence in the face of a hostile majority. there are potential costs for an individual converting to the minority and so the degree of commitment shown by a minority is typically greater. the more committed, the more likely to influence others.
3. flexible: Mugny suggests that flexibility is effective for changing the view of the majority. the minority try to negotiate their view, rather than enforce it. however not flexibile= dogmatic/narrowminded, too flexibile= inconsistent. some degree of flexibility is ore effective than none at all

Question 4

what was the key study by Moscovici?

Answer 4

to test the effect of a consistent minority on the majority.
he used groups of 4 p/p’s and 2 confederates (minority). all female, and all tested for colour blindness. they were shown 36 blue slides and asked to state what colour it was. in the CONSISTENT CONDITION, the confederates said al slides were green, in the INCONSISTENT CONDITION, they said 2/3 were green and 1/3 were blue. 29 trials in total. in a control condition with no confederates, the p/p’s said all slides were blue

Question 5

what did Moscovici find?

Answer 5

the consistent minority influenced the p/p’s responses 8.4% of the time, whereas in the inconsistent minority influenced the p/p’s responses 1.25% of the time. 32% of all p’s said the slide was green at least once.

Question 6

what study did Moscovici do after the findings of his first one?

Answer 6

the p/p’s were asked individually to sort 16 discs into either blue or green. 3 were obvs blue, 3 were obvs green and the remaining 10 were ambiguous. p/ ip’s from the consistent condition judged more discs to be green than blue, which suggests the influence is long lasting. the effect was greater for those who hadn’t publically gone along with the minority; perhaps it occurs more privately than publically

Question 7

what are criticisms of Moscovici’s study?

Answer 7

lacks population validity (only used women)
lacks mundane realism/internal validity (lab exp.)
demand characteristics
response of orders could affect influence

Question 8

what conclusions did Moscovici draw?

Answer 8

1. a minority that behaves consistently is most influential
2. inconsistent= no real influence
3. sucessful minority influence= long lasting
4. perhaps it is more private than public

Question 9

what is a strength of minority influence? (flexibile)

Answer 9

Nemeth + Brillmayer tested the role of flexibility in a simulated jury situation where group members discussed the amount of compensation to be paid to someone involved in a ski lift accident.
when a confederate put foreward an alternative point of view and refused to change his position, he had no real influence. however, when he compromised and shifted towards majority’s view, he exerted influence.
STRENGTH because support for the role of flexibility in minority influence

Question 10

what is a limitation of minority influence? (Maj>Min)

Answer 10

Mackie suggested that majority influence is more effective than minority influence. you have to consider why minority have a different position, and people dont bother wasting their time on this when there is a group with the same position (majority)
LIMITATION because u consider majority more cos u want to fit in, and so the minority isnt actually influential

Question 11

what is a strength of minority influence? (value)

Answer 11

Nemeth argued that dissent, in the form of minority influence, can open minds. as a result of exposure to minority influences, people search for more info, consider more options, make better decisions and are more creative. dissenters liberate people to say what they believe, and stimulate divergent and creative thought. this view is supported by Van Dyne, who studied the role of dissent in work groups. he found that groups improved decision quality when exposed to a minority position.
STRENGTH because suggests minority influence can have an important role to play in social change, and that it can be used to educate people about the importance of listening to a minority.