Minority Influence Flashcards
define minority influence
6
a form of social influence that occurs when an individual or small group influences a larger group to change their attitude and behaviour
differ to majority influence because…
- involves a process of conversion
- much deeper level of processing
- tends to outlast the group’s presence because the larger group scrutinises and internalises the view
whereas in majority influence, compliance tends to occur, people do not carefully scrutinise the message and they merely want to fit in
Moscovici (1969)
5
proposed 4 behavioural styles — if a minority group has these then they are more likely to be successful in converting the majority…
- consistency
- flexibility
- commitment
- relevance to society
consistency
6
the minority must propose a clear position and defend that position repeatedly — this demonstrates consistency
consistency makes a minority more likely to influence the majority because….
- when confronted with a consistent opinion/opposition, the majority tend to take notice and rethink their own position
- consistency gives the impression that the minority are convinced they are right and committed to their viewpoints, this creates uncertainty and doubt in the majority which makes them question their own views
- can lead to the majority taking them more seriously
believed by Moscovici to be the most important
flexibility
3
an inflexible, rigid and uncompromising minority is unlikely to make the majority change their views or even listen to them
however, if a minority appears flexible and willing to cooperate and compromise then they will have a better chance of influencing the majority
flexibility prevents the minority from alienating the majority and driving them away
commitment
4
commitment suggests certainty, confidence and courage in the face of the hostile majority
needed because joining a minority involves a higher cost to the individual than if they were to stay with the majority
more likely to persuade the majority to take them seriously and even convert them to their viewpoint if they’re committing themselves to the cause
although, it’s often hard to commit without appearing inflexible
relevance to society
2
society has to be ready and willing to accept the change that the minority group is advocating for
for example, in the 1950s being gay was classified as a mental illness so society would not have been ready to accept gay marriage and any attempts to change their minds would’ve been unsuccessful
outline a key study into minority influence (procedure and findings)
7
Moscovici (1969)
PROCEDURE….
each group compromised of 4 genuine participants and 2 confederates
they were shown a series of 36 blue slides and asked to judge the colour of each slide
consistent condition = confederates repeatedly called the blue slides green on every trial
inconsistent condition = confederates only called the blue slides green on 2/3 of trials
FINDINGS…
when the confederates were consistent, the genuine participants agreed that the slides were green on over 8% of the trials
when they were inconsistent, they exerted very little influence and failed to influence the participants’ answers (only 1.25% said green)
suggests that a consistent minority is far more influential than an inconsistent one
x4 evaluation points
research support for consistency
research support for commitment
research support for flexibility
laboratory studies
EVALUATION
research support for consistency
8
a study by Moscovici supports the role of consistency for minority influence
used groups compromising of 4 genuine participants and 2 confederates
they were shown a series of 36 blue slides and were asked to judge the colour of each slide
consistent condition = confederates repeatedly called the blue slides green on every trial
inconsistent condition = confederates only called the slides green on 2/3 of trials
found that when the confederates were consistent, the genuine participants said green on over 8% of the trials
when inconsistent, they exerted very little influence and failed to influence the participants (only 1.25% said green)
supports the importance of consistency as it suggests that a consistent minority is far more likely to be influential than an inconsistent one
EVALUATION
research support for commitment
5
Xie (2010) supports the importance of commitment
reported that when just 10% of the population holds an unshakeable belief, that belief will always be adopted by the majority
constructed a computer simulation with a committed minority
found that meeting more than one minority in a row holding the same opinion will influence and convert the majority
supports the importance of commitment as it suggests that a committed minority is more likely to bring about influence
EVALUATION
research support for flexibility
5
Nemeth supports the importance of flexibility
conducted an experiment based on a mock jury in which groups of three participants and one confederate had to decide on the amount of compensation to be given to the victim of a ski lift accident
when the minority (the confederate) consistently argued for a very low amount and refused to change his position, he had no effect on the majority
when he compromised, thus appearing flexible, the majority also compromised and changed their view
supports the importance of flexibility as it suggests that a flexible minority is more likely to bring about influence
EVALUATION
laboratory studies
(can be used as a double for any of the previous studies)
4
much of the evidence supporting Moscovici’s behavioural styles comes from laboratory studies that use artificial tasks
these conditions are very different to how minorities would seek to change the majority opinion in real life — in the real world they operate under different constraints, etc
results may lack ecological validity and be more difficult to generalise to wider society as laboratory experiments are largely unable to simulate real life situations
may decrease the usefulness of studies like Moscovici’s to provide evidence for the importance of these behavioural styles for minority influence
