Social influence - minority influence

Question 1

What is minority influence?

Answer 1

A form of social influence in which a minority persuade others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Tends to lead to internalisation - private thoughts and public behaviour is changed

Question 2

What are the 3 factors that increase the effects of minorities?

Answer 2

Consistency, commitment and flexibility

Question 3

What does consistency mean?

Answer 3

The viewpoint of the minority stays the same throughout the campaign

Question 4

Why does consistency have an effect?

Answer 4

The majority group sacrifice/question their own stance as the minority are so confident and incessant

Question 5

What is diachronic consistency?

Answer 5

Consistency of ideas over time

Question 6

What is synchronic consistency?

Answer 6

Where there is agreement and support among members of the group as everyone shares the same views

Question 7

What is commitment?

Answer 7

Showing dedication to the cause, such as being willing to make sacrifices

Question 8

What is the augmentation principle?

Answer 8

When members of the minority put themselves or are willing to experience danger in the name of their cause

Question 9

Why does commitment/the augmentation principle have an effect?

Answer 9

It gives the minority’s message credibility as people are unlikely to be prepared to suffer for a cause which isn’t worthwhile

Question 10

What does flexibility mean?

Answer 10

The minority are committed but prepared to adapt their point of view and accept reasonable and valid arguments

Question 11

Why does flexibility have an effect?

Answer 11

If the minority adopt too rigid a position it can lead to the perception of the minority being dogmatic and narrow-minded - therefore people would be unwilling to try and change

Question 12

When was Moscovici’s study?

Answer 12

1969

Question 13

Who was in the sample?

Answer 13

All female ppts. - put into groups of 6

Question 14

What was the procedure?

Answer 14

All shown 36 blue slides (differences in brightness of colour) - then asked if they were blue or green
- Consistent group - 2 confederates always said green
- Inconsistent group - 2/3 of the time 2 confederates said green
- Control group - no confederates

Question 15

What were the results?

Answer 15

• Consistent group - produced the most minority influence, with 8.42% of ppts. answering green
• Inconsistent - only 1.25%
• Control - only 0.25%

Question 16

What was the conclusion?

Answer 16

Minority can influence majority more when they’re consistent

Question 17

What is meant by the snowball effect?

Answer 17

If the minority are consistent, committed and flexible, they will start to convert the majority. Members of majority will process message deeply and eventually change their position. Over time the minority view eventually becomes the majority’s views as members switch their position

Question 18

What is a strength of the explanation that flexibility has an important role in minority influence? - Empirical evidence

Answer 18

===> Nemeth and Brilmayer (1987) studied flexibility’s role in a jury simulation. Group members discussed amount of compensation awarded in a ski lift accident. When a confederate suggested an alternative opinion and refused to change stances it had no effect. When a confederate compromised and showed a shift towards the majority it did have an influence. Only evident in those who shifted late in negotiations rather than those who shifted early. Suggests there are situational variables that can affect the influence a minority has - flexibility depends on the situation

Question 19

What is a strength of the theory that minority groups are more influential than majority groups? - Supported by research

Answer 19

===> Martin et al (2003) asked ppts. their view on animal research. IV was whether they were told the minority or majority group agree with them. Ppts. given info against their opinion then asked again. Ppts. were less willing to change their mind if they were told the minority agreed. Suggests minorities are more persuasive because the minority message has been more deeply processed

Question 20

What is a limitation of the theory of the snowball effect? - Vague in nature

Answer 20

===> Xie et al (2011) used computer models of social networks and discovered a tipping point of a minority group as 10% of the population was needed for majority to be converted. Suggests if there’s less than 10%, it’s unlikely to affect the whole group’s opinion. Size of minority is important and could mean minorities struggle to enforce social change

Question 21

What is a limitation of much of the research into minority influence? - Methodological issues

Answer 21

===> In Moscovici’s study, task of identifying colour of a slide is very far removed from how minorities attempt to change the behaviour of majorities in real life. Judging the colour of a slide has no important consequences but many issues that minority groups promote have political, environmental and/or moral consequences. Moscovici’s task lacks mundane realism and results may have low ecological validity as they may not generalise out of a lab setting