Week 5 - Social influence - Minority influence

Question 1

Societies are not typically static, explain what this means

Answer 1

They are marked by innovation, change and development

Question 2

If only majority influence, where would change come from?

Answer 2

Influence of minorities

Question 3

What are the four important behavioural style according to Moscovici?

Answer 3

1 - Consistency (over time and between members)
2 - Investment (significant personal or material sacrifice)
3 - Autonomy (no ulterior motives)
4 - Rigidity (not dogmatic, yet consistent)

Question 4

According to Moscovici, why is it important minority groups show particular behavioural styles?

Answer 4

Because they are more likely to become influential

Question 5

What is conversation theory?

Answer 5

• Moscovici developed a conflict model - provoke conversion
• Proposes minority influence is qualitatively different from majority influence
• Minority: private change through cognitive conflict and restructuring through validation processes (high attention to the issue)

Question 6

Describe the study done by Moscovici, Lage & Naffrechouc (1969)

Answer 6

• 4 naive participants and 2 confederates
• Colour perception task - actually bleu slides that varied in intensity
• Consistent condition - confederates called all slides green
• Inconsistent condition - confederates called two-thirds of the slides green, one-third blue

Question 7

What were the results from Moscovici, Lage & Naffrechouc (1969) study?

Answer 7

• 0.2% green responses in control condition
• 1.1% green responses in inconsistent condition
• 8.2% green responses in consistent condition
• The minority consistently disagrees drives the partipcnats to change their answer

Question 8

What was the second part of Moscovici, Lage & Naffrechouc (1969) study?

Answer 8

Colour thresholds - different gradients of blue and green, participants answered alone with no external pressures. They wanted to see at what point the participant would say that a blue slide was actually green - would their threshold of perception change?

Question 9

What were the results from the second part of Moscovici, Lage & Naffrechouc (1969) study?

Answer 9

• Participants exposed to the minority said the slides were green, they now exhibited a lower threshold for green compared to control participants
• Seen as a remarkable result as it showed that there was a lasting effect of being exposed to the minority
• Effect was greater among participants who were resistant to the minority - they had a lower threshold
• Observing indirect, delayed effects of minority influence
• Those who were exposed to minority influence did not necessarily change their behavior in public, but when you come to test them on theist own you can see there is some form is change happening at the private level

Question 10

What was the 5 conditions in the study done by Moscovici & Lage (1976)?

Answer 10

Compared minority and majority influence:
1. Consistent minority (2 confederates, 4 naive)
2. Inconsistent minority (2 confederates, 4 naive)
3. A single consistent confederate
4. Unamious majority (3 confederates, 1 naive)
5. Non-unanioums majority (4 confederates, 2 naive)

Question 11

What was the results from the study study done by Moscovici & Lage (1976)?

Answer 11

• Consistent minority giving an incorrect response succeeds in changing 10% of the responses
• Inconsistent minority or just single confederate giving wrong answer, almost no change in participants responses >1%
• Unanimous majority had the largest influence, with 40% of responses turning out to be
• Non unanimous majority, performance rates drop to 12% of responses being green
• Consistent and non-unanimous majority the same effectiveness in changing the responses

Question 12

What were the results of the variation of the study done by Moscovici & Lage (1976) looking at the color threshold?

Answer 12

• All participants exposed to the consistent majority condition shifted their colour thresholds
• The participants actual perception only changes when they’re exposed to the consistent minority
• When they’re exposed to the majority, their thresholds don’t shift