Paper 1 - Social Influence - Topic 1 - Minority Influence Flashcards
What is minority influence?
Minority influence refers to situations where one person or a small group influences the beliefs and behaviour of others
This is distinct from conformity, where the majority influences
What is the outcome of minority influence?
Minority influence is most likely to lead to internalisation, changing both public behaviour and private beliefs
Who first studied minority influence?
Serge Moscovici first studied this process in his ‘blue slide, green slide’ study
What are the three main processes in minority influence?
The three main processes are consistency, commitment, and flexibility
What is consistency in minority influence?
The minority must be consistent in their views, which increases interest from others over time
Consistency can be synchronic (agreement within the minority) or diachronic (agreement over time)
What is commitment in minority influence?
The minority must demonstrate commitment to their cause, often engaging in extreme activities to draws attention
This is known as the augmentation principle
What is flexibility in minority influence?
Flexibility involves being prepared to adapt viewpoints and accept reasonable counter arguments, balancing consistency and flexibility
What is the process of change in minority influence?
The three factors encourage deeper processing of the minority’s view, leading to conversion over time
What is the snowball effect in minority influence?
The snowball effect refers to the increasing rate of conversion from majority to minority positions as more people switch views
What research supports the importance of consistency?
Moscovici et al.’s. Study showed that a consistent minority opinion had a greater effect on changing views that an inconsistent opinion
What evidence supports deeper processing in minority influence?
Research by Robin Martin et al. Showed that participants were less willing to change opinions after hearing a minority group indicating deeper processing of
What is a counterpoint to minority influence research?
Real-world social influence situations are more complex; majorities often have more power and status than minorities, which is not reflected in research
What is a limitation of minority influence research?
Tasks in minority influence research are often artificial, lacking external validity and relevance to real-world situations
What does Moscovici et al.’s study suggest about the power of minority influence?
The study found that agreement with a consistent minority was low, suggesting minority influence is rare
However, private responses showed higher agreement with the minority’s view
