Minority Influence

How does the majority influence the minority?

Power of the majority to establish norms

Result : compliance rather than conversion

How does the minority influence the majority?

Consistent minority challenges beliefs leading to reappraisal - conversion rather than compliance.

Minority influence and behavioural state

Minority influence creates a conversion process where people scrutinise the message itself if the minority adapt a consistent and committed approach. As a result it tends to be longer lasting as the people have internalised the minority's point of view.

Consistency

If the minority adapts a consistent approach, others consider the issue more carefully. After all there must be a reason they are confident to maintain it over time.

Commitment

Commitment suggests certainty and courage in the face of a hostile majority. Majority group members may even pay more attention; this is sometimes referred to as the augmentation principle.

Flexibility

Flexibility is more important at changing majority opinion than the rigidity of arguments. Some degree of flexibility is more effective than none at all.

The snowball effect

What starts off as a gradual change in opinion, gathers momentum until more people adopt this new position. The minority become the majority.

Describe Moscovci et al's Procedure

- Ecah group had 4 ppts and a minority of 2 confederates. They were shown a series of blue slides that only varied in intesity and were asked to judge the colour of each slid.

- In the consistent experimental condition, the 2 confederates repeatedly called the blue slides green. In the inconsisten condition, the confederates called the slides green on two-thirds of the trials and on the remaining one-third called the slide blue.

- In a control condition, comprimising of 6 naieve ppts and no confederteas, ppts called the slide blue throughout

Describe Moscovici et al's findings

- The findings show that the consistent minority influenced the naieve ppts to say green on over 8.42% of the trials. The inconsitent minority influenced the naieve ppts to say green on 1.25% of the trials.

Moscovici's research demostrates that a consistent minority is far more influential than an inconsistent one.

Minority influence AO3

😊Research support for flexibility- Nemeth and Brilmayer studied the role of flexibility in a simulated jury. When a confederate put forward an alternative view and refused to change his osition, this had no effect on other group members. A confederate who showed some degree of shift towards the majority did exert an influence on the rest of the group. However this was only evident in those whp shifted late in negotiations rather than those who shifted earlier.

😊Research support for consistency- Moscovici's study shpows that the consistent minortiy had a greater impact on the others opinions than the inconsistent minority.

☹️Moscovici's study lacks ecological validity. The decision to judge the colour of slides is not an important decision.

☹️There are limited real world applications- There is more involved in the difference between minority and majority than just members. For exmple majorities tend to have more power and status than minorities. Minorities tend to be more comitted to their cause.