Social Influence - Minority influence Flashcards
what is meant by minority influence?
when social influence occurs when minority changes the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of a majority
how does a minority view become a majority view?
as minority group persuades others to think the same as them the minority begins to grow into the majority - happens by internalisation
who investigated into minority influence?
Moscovivi
what did moscovici do in his research?
sample of 172 female pps taking part in colour perception task. 6 females in each group. One condition the 2 confederates consistantly said they slides were green. other condition confederate inconstantly said green on 2/3 of the trials. (They were really blue)
what were the findings of moscovics research?
consistant - 32% of pps gave answer green at least once
inconsistant - 1% of pps gave answer of green
what conclusions did moscovici make about his research?
for the minority to have an influence on a majority group they must be CONSISTENT
how can we criticise moscovics research?
lab experiment - artificial - changing a majorities viewpoint usually takes years whereas this study took place over a short period of time - therefore doesn’t provide accurate reflection of how minority groups operate in the real world
what 3 processes are involved in minority influence?
consistency, commitment, flexibility
what is meant by the process consistency?
minority group must be consistent over years and must all propose the same message - must be synchronised with each other
what is meant by the process commitment?
minority group must demonstrate confidence, courage and commitment to their belief - no swerving to other opinions
what is meant by the process flexibility?
minority can’t be totally rigid or narrow minded in stance because others will not take them so seriously and they may not have an influence from them
what evidence is there to support the idea consistency is an important factor of the minority being influential?
moscovicis - more in consist than inconsistent also meta - analysis of 100 studies - minority the was consistent - more influential
what evidence is there to support the idea flexibility is an important factor of the minority being influential?
simulated jury - a confederate who disagreed with jury and refused to alter his opinion for compensation so a ski left incident had less influence than a confederate who was prepared to shift little towards majority
what is one criticism of the research into the minority influence?
artificial and staged - does not apply to real life situations - e.g. agreeing about the views of colour slides - less confident about the role of consistency and flexibility in minority influence
