Social Influence: Minority Influence & Social Change

Question 1

Factors related to minority influence. What should a minority be?

Answer 1

• Consistency
• Commitment
• Flexibility

Question 2

Research into consistency & minority influence

Answer 2

Moscovici: Asch colour variation
- 4 Participants + 2 confederates
- actors said green all 36 times or 12 blue,24
green
- the consistent answers had more of an
influence on other people (8.4% to 1.25%)

• suggests minorities can influence a majority
  but only if they are consistent in their
  behaviour & opinions

Question 3

How does commitment affect minority influence?

Answer 3

• for someone to be converted by a minority influence they must trust the minority and believe that they are campaigning for the right reasons
• Informational social influence means that the majority will conform if they think the cause is right

Question 4

How does a minority show commitment?

Answer 4

• sacrifice of time
• sacrifice of money
• sacrifice of freedom

e.g. Rosa Parks sacrificed as she knew she
would be arrested

Question 5

Research linking commitment to minority influence

Answer 5

Moscovici

Question 6

Research linking flexibility to minority influence

Answer 6

Nemeth: Ski Lift Compensation 
- 3 participants + 1 confederate 
- when the confederate was dogmatic 
  (inflexible) with the low amount of 
  compensation he had no effect on the 
  majority
- when he was flexible he received more  
  money 

• flexibility is important to be influenced by a
  minority

Question 7

Why do people yield to minority influence?

Minorities Confront Silly Little Sad-acts

Answer 7

• Group membership
  (if you identify with a group = more likely to
  be influenced)
• Consistency
  (links to informational social influence)
• Snowball effect
• Locus of control
  (people with an internal locus of control less
  likely to conform to the majority)
• Sacrifices
  (emphasises the minority’s belief that what
  they are doing is right)

Question 8

How does social change happen?

Answer 8

1. Sacrifice, consistency & commitment
2. Informational social influence
3. Flexibility
4. Progress & group membership
5. snowball effect
6. normative social influence
7. success
8. obedience to authority

Question 9

What is the snowball effect?

Answer 9

This is where the minority gains enough supporters through informational social influence that it becomes the majority.
People then join the cause because it is popular, through normative social influence.