Social Influence - Minority Influence

Question 1

What is minority influence?

Answer 1

A form of social influence in which a minority of people (sometimes just 1 person) persuades others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours leading to internalisation or conversion (private & public attitudes change)

Question 2

What is social change?

Answer 2

When a whole society adopts a new belief/way of behaving which then becomes widely accepted as the norm

Question 3

What are some examples of minority influence in society?

Answer 3

Feminists
Vegans
The black civil rights movement
LGBT
Environmentalists

Question 4

What are the 3 characteristics of individuals that can bring about social change?

Answer 4

Commitment
Consistency
Flexibility

Question 5

How does consistency in the minority’s view increase the likelihood of social change?

Answer 5

Consistency increases the amount of interest from the majority. This means if everyone is saying/wants the same thing (Synchronic consistency) and saying the same thing over a long period of time (Diachronic consistency), minority influence will be most effective & it will be easier to create social change as people are more likely to rethink their own views.

Question 6

How does commitment to the minority’s viewpoint increase the likelihood of social change?

Answer 6

When the minority takes risks or demonstrates personal sacrifices, the influence is stronger as it shows that they are dedicated to their cause & not acting out of self interest. In turn, this attracts more attention from the majority who demonstrate the augmentation principle (‘if they really believe what they’re saying then I should consider their view’) and puts the majority in a state of cognitive dissonance so they are more likely to gravitate towards that viewpoint