Minority Influence

What is minority influence?

When a minority influences the beliefs/behaviour of other people. It leads to internalisation (majority of the time (public & private behaviour changed.) Three main processes: consistency, commitment, flexibility.

How is consistency a process of MI?

Minority must be consistent in views → increases interest of other people. Agreement:
Synchronic consistency: all saying the same thing
Diachronic consistency: all saying the same thing over a long period of time
people rethink own views due to consistency.

How is commitment a process of MI?

Commitment to cause/views
Engage in extreme activities that present risk to minority → emphasise/draw attention to views → greater commitment
Majority group members pay attention
Augmentation principle - action occurs despite obstacles/risk → assign greater importance

How is flexibility a process of MI?

Charlan Nemeth (1986): consistency isn’t the only important factor as it can be off-putting and causes people to be seen as rigid, unbending & dogmatic
Consistency = unlikely to gain many minority converts alone
Members of minority must adapt point of view & accept reasonable/valid counterarguments
Balance between flexibility & consistency

Explaining the process of change

People think about minority’s cause/views
Hear something new → think about it deeply (esp if it is consistent, committed & flexible)
Deeper processing = important in process of conversion to a different, minority viewpoint
Increasing numbers of conversion to minority over time → ‘converted’
More this happens → faster rate of conversion
Snowball effect
Gradually, minority becomes majority & change has occured

Strength: Research support for consistency (scientific credibility)

Moscovici et al’s blue/green slide study
Consistent minority opinion had greater effect on changing people’s views > inconsistent
Wendy Wood et al (1994): meta-analysis of 100 similar studies → perceived consistent minorities = most influential
Minimum requirement for minority influecne

Strength: Research support for deeper processing (scientific credibility)

Robin Martin et al (2003): presented a message supporting a particular viewpoint & measured participants’ agreement
One group of participants heard minority group agree with initial view
Other group heard the majority group agree with it
Participants exposed to a conflicting view & attitudes were measured again
People = less willing to change opinions post listening to minority group over majority
Minority = more deeply processed & more enduring effect

Limitation: counterpoint

Research studies make clear distinctions between minority/majority
Controlled = strength of MI
Real world = social influence is more complicated
Majorities have more power/status than minorities
Minorities = very committed to cause due to facing hostile opposition
Features absent from MI research → minority = smallest group
Limited - low external validity

Limitation: Artificial tasks

Artificial like Asch’s line judgement task
Moscovi et al’s colour slide identification also
Research = far removed from how majorities learn to accept minority views in real life
E.g. jury decision making & political campaigning
Outcomes = vastly more important
Studies lack external validity