The case where a minority of group members influences the behavior or beliefs of the majority
Moscovici et al
6 people asked to identity the colour of 36 slides, they were all blue with different intensities.
Confeds in Moscovici's exp
2 confederates said green 2/3 of the time
Rate of conformity
participants gave the same wrong answer 8.42% of the trials, 32% gave the same answer as the minority on at least one trial.
2nd group with inconsistent minority
1.25% got it wrong and with no confeds, 0.25% got it wrong
Consistency
Consistency in minority's views increase amount of interest from other people, makes people rethink their own views
Synchronic consistency
All saying the same thing
Diachronic consistency
All been saying the same thing for a long time
Commitment
Minorities engage in extreme activities to draw attention to their views. Try to take risks to show their commitment
augmentation principle
the majority value the importance of the cause - as the minority are risking their lives for it
Nemeth
Argues that consistency can be seen as rigid, inflexible, dogmatic and unbending. Minorities should be able to adapt their view and accept reasonable counter-arguments
Balance
The key is to have a balance between consistency and flexibility
Process of change
Hearing something new makes people stop and think, especially if the source is consistent and passionate. Snowball effect caused making minority view becoming majority view