1.4 Minority Influence & Social Change

Minority Influence

Occurs when a small group of people or individual changes the attitudes/ behaviours of the majority.

There are 3 processes at work in minority influence:

Commitment, consistency, flexibility

Commitment

-The minority must show full commitment to their beliefs - must work hard to be heard and taken seriously

Example: Emily Davison threw herself in front of a horse to raise awareness for women’s rights

-Going to extreme lengths to show commitment is called the augmentation principle.

Consistency

-The minority must have a consistent message which doesn’t change over time. This proves to the majority that they are strong and confident in their beliefs.

Example: climate activists always saying that the earths future is at risk. ( over time more people have taken it seriously)

Flexibility

The minority should be flexible and be able to adapt their message to those who aren’t as accepting of their point. They should be open to offering counter arguments and being respectful to other opinions whilst implementing their message.

Example: Someone arguing a low price of compensation but increasing the price slightly to negotiate with others.

Snowball Effect

What starts small, gathers pace and price up new members like a snowball rolling down a hill gathering more snow.

Over time, the minority becomes a majority.

Evaluation: Strengths of minority influence

There are real world examples which have direct application- good external validity

Evaluation: Limitations of minority influence

Minority influence may be due to the personality of the people associated with the group rather than the cause. (Charismatic cult leaders who persuade people to join extremist groups, freedom fighters who appear as almost mythical figures to their followers)

Research has low mundane realism as nothing is at stake In a lab experiment and it takes many years to implement a message into society.

Social Change

A shift in or adaptation in social norms ( it takes place gradually)

Example: People starting to move towards using recycling bins from communal bins, now it's a part of every day life.

Evaluation: Strengths role of social influence processes in social change

Prior commitment to pro social behaviour results in positive behaviour change as in Dickerson et all study those who had signed a poster on saving water and answered a questionnaire on their use of water spent less time showering than participants who hadn’t.

There are positive implications for the economy when it comes to social change- accepting minority rights means a more diverse workplace.

Evaluation: Limitations role of social influence processes in social change

Social change occurs slowly and has setbacks. This means that its often difficult to track progress and also pick out the main driving force behind the change.

There are also negative implications to the economy as more recycling and separation of litter is more expensive. Additionally more women in the workplace means that maternity leave pay must be taken into consideration.

Moscivici’s research

6 people asked to view a set of 36 blue slides that varied in intensity and then state whether the slide was blue or green. Each group had 2 confederates who consistently said the slides were green. The true participants gave the same wrong answer on 8.42% of the trials.

A second group of participants were exposed to an inconsistent minority. This time the confederates said the slides were ‘green’ 24 times and ‘blue’ 12 times. The conformity rate dropped to 1.25%.

The third group was a control group where there were no confederates and only 0.25% of times the participants were wrong.

A consistent minority opinion has a greater effect on changing views.