minority influence

• minority influence

  • Is a form of social influence whereby a minority of people persuade others to adopt their beliefs and behaviours. This can lead to internalisation .
  • this is distinct from conformity(where the majority do the influencing)
• factors affecting minority influence

  • consistency
  • commitment
  • flexibility
• consistency

  The consistency in the minorities views increases the amount of interest from other people.Such consistency make people rethink their own views as they may believe that they may have a point if they keep repeating it
• commitment

  The augmentation principle states that if a person or movement is carried out action despite great opposition, obstacles, or difficulties, their beliefs are perceived as 'stronger than those obstacles' and therefore appear more valid.
• flexibility

  Members of the minority need to be prepared to adapt their point of view and accept reasonable and valid counter-arguments.
• miscovici conclusion

  Moscovici’s experiment suggests that minorities can influence majorities.However, it also indicates that this influence is much more effective when the minority are consistent in their responses.
• snowball effect

  over time ,increasing number of people join the minority view from the majority view.Eventually the minority view becomes the majority view and change has occurred.
• Miscovici study

  • Moscovici (1969) conducted a key study on minority influence, demonstrating that consistency is a crucial factor in how persuasive a minority can be.
  • participants were shown blue slides and asked to state the colour out loud. In the consistent condition, two confederates (the minority) repeatedly said the slides were green. In the inconsistent condition, they said green on only some trials. The consistent minority influenced participants to say green on 8.42% of trials, while the inconsistent minority had significantly less influence. This suggests that consistency enhances the effectiveness of minority influence.