Evaluation

• Research support for consistency

  Moscovici et al (1969) - consistency of a minority opinion was more of an influence than an inconsistent message

  Wood et al (1994) - Meta analysis of over 100 similar studies, and found that minorities who were seen as being consistent were the most influential
• Research support for depth of thought

  Research shows that if there is a deeper understanding of/ thought processing involved, then there may be a conversion of opinions

  Martin et al (2003) - people are less willing to change opinions if they have listened to a minority, rather than if they shared their opinions with a majority

  This suggests that the minority messages are more deeply processed and can have more of an enduring effect
• Weakness - Artificial tasks - coloured slides task

  Identifying a colour slide is an artificial taks

  this is far removed from how people in a minority group attempt to change opinions of the majority in real life

  Outcomes can be vastly more important (Eg jury / political campaigns)
• Real world application

  Real life social influence situations are often much more complex than simply considering the minority / majority influence

  Majorities usually have a lot more power and status than minorities

  Minorities are often very committed to their cause - they have to be able to face hostile opposition