Minority Influence

• Minority Influence is a form of social influence in which a minority (sometimes just 1 person) persuades others to conform to their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours.
• Moscovici et al 1969 Study:

  • 32 groups each containing 6 women.
  • Each group contained 4 naive PPs & a minority of 2 confederates.
  • They were shown a series of blue slides that varied in intensity & were asked to judge the colour of each slide.
  • In the 'consistent' experiment condition, the 2 confederates repeatedly called the blue slides green on every trial.
  • In the 'inconsistent' condition, the confederates called the slides green on 2/3 of the trails, and on the remaining 1/3 of trials called the slides blue.
  • Control condition- 6 naive PPs (no confederates) PPs called slides blue throughou
• Moscovici et al 1969 Study Findings:

  • The consistent minority influenced the naive PPs to say 'green' on over 8% of the trails.
  • The inconsistent minority exerted very little influence & did not differ significantly from the control group.
  • 32% of PPs gave the same answer as confederates at least once (conformed at least once).
  • When confederates were inconsistent, conformity dropped to 1.25%.
• Moscovici et al 1969 Study:

  • Aim: to see if people will conform to minority influence.
  • Conclusion: a consistent minority can bring about change in a majority group.
• Moscovici developed Conversion Therapy:

  • When we are presented with a viewpoint from the majority, we change to fit in with their norms without really scrutinising the message, leading to compliance for acceptance.
  • When the minority presents new information which is in conflict with our existing understanding, we are likely to look closely to try to understand why it differs.
  • This leads to a conversion process, which is likely to lead to internalisation.
• 3 characteristics make for influential minorities:

  1. Consistency
  2. Commitment
  3. Flexibility
• Consistency:

  • For us to take the message seriously, the minority must maintain consistency with each other & over time.
• Commitment:

  • The minority must show that they are dedicated to their belief/ cause.
  • Their commitment suggests confidence & certainty in their message.
  • Commitment can be shown through personal risk or sacrifice, which demonstrates the value of the cause- known as the 'augmentation principle'.
• Flexibility:

  • The minority must be prepared to negotiate their position & be willing to compromise.
  • An uncompromising minority can appear narrow-minded & stubborn, and we are less influenced.
• Evaluation of Minority Influence- Strength:

  • Research evidence supports the role of flexibility in minority influence- Nemeth & Brilmayer (1987) found that a minority who was willing to compromise towards the majority, was more influential than an inflexible person when discussing the amount of compensation that should be awarded in a stimulated jury situation.
  • Implies that the proposed behavioural characteristics for minority influence are valid.
• Evaluation of Minority Influence- Strength:

  • Research evidence supports the role of consistency in minority influence- Wood et al (1994) carried out a meta-analysis of 100 studies similar to that of Moscovici & found that minorities who were seen as being consistent, were the most influential.
  • Implies validity to proposed characteristic.
• Evaluation of Minority Influence- Strength:

  • Research evidence supports the role of commitment in minority influence- Xie et al (2011) discovered that once a committed minority starts to change the opinions of the majority, it will reach a tipping point whereby the majority starts to change more rapidly to the minority view.
  • Implies validity to proposed characteristic.