Social influence - minority influence Flashcards
minority influence
a form of social influence where exposure to a consistent minority group can change peoples views. felt over a period of time and leads to internalisation
what are the three main minority influence processes?
consistency, commitment and flexibility
consistency
increases interest from others and makes others begin to rethink their own views. either diachronic or synchronic consistency
diachronic consistency
saying same thing for a long amount of time
synchronic consistency
all of the minority is saying the same thing
example of consistency?
MLK - leader of civil rights movement. lead boycotts. promoted cause despite being jailed, stabbed, etc. over 2500 speeches and 5 books
commitment
minorities engage in extreme activities to draw attention to their views. more risk to minority = more attention from majority
flexibility
minority must be prepared to accept reasonable and valid counter-arguments.
who argued that too much consistency is a bad thing?
Nemeth (1986)
what is the first step in the process of change
deeper processing. after hearing a new viewpoint, you think about it more and then process it. if it is a passionate and consistent viewpoint, you are more likely to change viewpoint
snowball effect
once minority persuades a few, causes a snowball effect where overtime the minority becomes the majority.
augmentation process
a form of commitment. someone performing an action where there are known restraints, shows commitment and how their motive must be stronger than constraints.
who did the study that supports minority influence?
Moscovici (1969)
what was Moscovici’s study on minority influence?
- a group of 6 were asked to look at 36 blue slides and were asked if it was blue/green
- consistent minority is 6.95% more effective than an inconsistent minority
strengths of minority influence
+ supporting research (Moscovici)
+ real world examples show it does actually take place (external validity)