minority influence + social change: ao1 Flashcards
Define minority influence
Refers to situations where one person or small group of ppl (a minority) influence the beliefs and behaviours of other people
Minority influence is most likely to lead to …
Internalisation
Change in both public and private
3 things that need to be shown for minority influence to occur and who said this
Consistency
Commitment
Flexibility
Said by moscovici
What is social change
This occurs when a whole society adopts a new belief or behaviour that then becomes widely accepted as the norm
Minorities can bring about social change by drawing…
The majority’s attention to an issue
(Drawing attention)
What is cognitive conflict
Minority creates a conflict between what the majority currently believe and the position of the minority
Making the majority think more deeply about the issues being challenged
What is consistency
Where all the people in the minority group hold to the same beliefs over time
This draws attention to their beliefs and creates uncertaity in the mind of the majority
Moscovici 1969 procedure
Ppts were shown 36 blue slides and asked to say what the colour was
Ppts - 2 confederates (minority) said it was green consistently in the first Condition
In the second condition they were inconsistent answering green 24 times and blue 12 times
4 ppts - majority
Findings of moscovici et al 1969
In first condition 8% of ppts said the slides were Green (when confederates were 100% consistent)
In second condition 1% of ppts said the slides were green (when confederates weren’t consistent
What is the augmentation principle?
When a minority appears willing to suffer for their views they are seen as more committee and so are taken more seriously than others
What is the augmentation principle?
When a minority appears willing to suffer for their views they are seen as more committee and so are taken more seriously than others
What is commitment and what does it lead to in the majority
The minority showing dedication to their beliefs through personal sacrifice
So majority will take ideas seriously and consider their arguments
What is the snowball effect?
Minority influence has a small effect at first but this then spreads until it reaches a tipping point at which it leads to wide scale social change
What is social cryptoamnesia?
People have a memory that change has occurred but they don’t remember when it happened
What is flexibility?
Members ofminority must be prepared to adapt their viewpoint and accept reasonable and valid counter arguments
This is because repeating the same arguments and behaviours over and over again can be seen rigid
