social influence - minority influence Flashcards
what is minority influence?
one person or a small group influence the majority
what is synchronic consistency?
agreement between people in the minority group
what is diachronic consistency?
consistency over time
why is consistency important for minority influence?
draws attention to the minority view
makes others rethink their own views
what is commitment?
the minority demonstrate dedication to their position (e.g personal sacrifices or engaging in extreme activities)
what is the augmentation principle?
if the minority undergoes extreme activities or risks to further their cause, it amplifies their impact
what is the importance of commitment
augmentation principle - amplifies their impact
demonstrates that they aren’t acting out of self-interest
what is flexibility
members of the minority need to be prepared to adapt their point of view and accept reasonable counterarguments
why is flexibility important for minority influence?
Nemeth (1986) argued that consistency alone can be off-putting as they minority may seen rigid and unreasonable
what is deeper processing?
hearing something new makes you think more deeply about it, which is important in the process of conversion
what is the snowball effect?
the more people convert to the minority, the faster the rate of conversion
minority becomes the majority
strength - research support for consistency
Moscovici et al (1969)
- participants had to state whether coloured slides were blue or green
- each group had 2 confederates who said the slides were green
consistent confederates - participants agreed on 8.42% of the trials
inconsistent confederates - participants agreed on 1.25% of the trials
strength - research support for deeper processing
Martin et al (2003)
- participants presented a message and their agreement was measured
- one group heard a minority group agree
- other group heard majority group agree
- participants were then exposed to a conflicting view and those who had heard the minority group were less willing to change their opinion
limitation - lack of external validity
real-world social influence is more complicated as majorities have more power and status and minorities face hostile opposition
- these features are absent from minority influence research, such as Martin et al (2003)
limitation - artificial tasks
Moscovici et al’s task of identifying the colour of slides.
- far removed from how minorities attempt to chang the behaviour of majorities in real life
- minorities in real life focus o much more important topics, such as political issues
