2a. Minority influence

What is minority influence?

Minority influence= A form of social influence in which a minority of people (sometimes just one person) persuades others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours. Leads to internalisation or conversion, in which private attitudes are changed as well as public behaviours

What are the 3 key behaviours of successful minority groups?

3 key behaviours of successful minority groups=

• consistency

• commitment

• flexibility

What is consistency?

Consistency=

Minority influence (MI) is most effective when there is (synchronic consistency – they’re all saying the same thing) and (diachronic consistency – they’ve been saying the same thing for some time now.

What is commitment?

Commitment=

the degree to which members of a minority are dedicated to a particular cause and are willing to make sacrifices to achieve their desired outcome. The greater the perceived commitment, the higher the influence: augmentation principle.

What is flexibility?

Flexibility=

a willingness to compromise the achievement of a desired outcome. Nemeth (1986) argued that if the minority is seen as being inflexible and uncompromising, them the majority are unlikely to change.

Minority needs to balance consistency and flexibility, so not shown as extremist.

What is the snowball effect?

Snowball effect= a balance of 3 of these key factors make people think about the issue and over time people become converted: minority view becomes the majority.