Minority Influence & social change

Question 1

Describe minority influence

Answer 1

Form of social influence in which a minority persuades majority to adopt beliefs and behaviours

Question 2

What does minority influence lead to?

Answer 2

Internalisation- public and private change

Question 3

What are the 3 factors that affect minority influence

Answer 3

1) consistency
2) commitment
3) flexibility

Question 4

What are the two types of consistency and their meaning

Answer 4

Synchronic constancy- consistency among minority members

Diachronic consistency- consistency of message/ attitude over time

Question 5

Describe commitment

Answer 5

Known as augmentation Principle

Question 6

Describe Flexibility

Answer 6

Nemeth (1986) argued:
Being extremely consistent can be negative and perceived as dogmatic and inflexible.
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Instead minority needs to be able
To adapt

Question 7

Describe ‘snowball effect’

Answer 7

Over time increasing numbers will switch to minority’s view

Question 8

Describe the blue/green slide study

Answer 8

Moscovici et al (1969)
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36 blue (varying in intensity) slides 
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Had to state whether blue or green
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 2 Confederates who said slides were green on 2/3 of trials

Question 9

What were the findings of blue-green slide study

Answer 9

Inconsistent minority: 1.25% agreement
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No confederates (control): 0.25% wrong answers

Question 10

Research support for effect of consistency?

Answer 10

Wood et al (1994) carried out a meta analysis of 100 similar studies and found consistent minority’s more influential

Question 11

Why might research support have low external validity

Answer 11

Trivial/ artificial tasks that are far removed from real life situations such as jury service

Question 12

Define social change

Answer 12

Occurs when while society’s adopt a new attitude, rather than individuals

Question 13

What are the 6 steps of social change

Answer 13

1) drawing attention
2) consistency
3) deeper processing
4) augmentation principle
5) snowball effect
6) social cryptomnesia

Question 14

Describe drawing attention

Answer 14

Draw attention to situation by providing social proof issue for social

Question 15

Describe consistency (social change)

Answer 15

Consistency shown for cause

Question 16

Describe deeper processing

Answer 16

Attention to issue means people who had accepted the status quo began to think about it more

Question 17

Describe augmentation principle

Answer 17

Showing risk and commitment to cause

Question 18

Describe snowball effect

Answer 18

As majority begins to shift more and more also do so

Question 19

Describe social cryptomnesia

Answer 19

People have a memory that change occurred but forget how it happened

Question 20

Research support for NSI on social change

Answer 20

Investigated impact of NSI on reduction of energy consumption.
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Hung message on front door either saying everyone else is trying to save energy or a control simply asking them to save energy
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Found significant reduction of energy from first group

Question 21

Conformity on social change

Answer 21

1. When one dissenter it breaks unanimity and acts as model

2. Also NSI, people want to appear normal, when minority is bigger people people join

Question 22

NSI as a barrier for social change

Answer 22

1. People did not want to be associated with ‘tree huggers’ in study
2. Need to avoid behaving in seetotypical ways to avoid putting off majority