Minority Influence and Social Change

• what is minority influence?

  • a form of social influence where people reject the established norm of the majority of group members and move to the position of the minority
  • minority groups which are active and organised, defending their position consistently can lead to social conflict and doubt amongst members of a majority
  • exposure to individuals of the minority may gradually lead to internalisation of the minority's beliefs and opinions
• what is consistency and why do minority groups need to be consistent?

  • keeping the same view - this increases the amount of interest from other people giving minority groups more attention
• what are the two types of consistency?

  • synchronic consistency - where everyone in the minority group is saying the same thing
  • diachronic consistency - where the same view is kept over time
• In the context of minority groups, what is commitment?

  where the minority group demonstrates dedication to their position
• how can minority groups show their commitment?

  • making personal sacrifices - also know as the augmentation principle
  • this is effective as it shows they are not acting out of self-interest
• why do minority groups need to be flexible?

  • minority influence is more likely to occur when the minority is willing to compromise - means they can't be viewed as too rigid or unreasonable
  • members of a minority group need to be prepared to adapt their point of view and accept reasonable counter-arguments
• In the context of minority groups, what is deep processing?

  When hearing something new and when the source of the view is consistent, committed and passionate; this can lead to deeper processing of the view. This is important in the process of conversion to a different view-point.
• what is the snowball effect?

  Where over time increasing numbers of people switch from the majority position to the minority position. They have become 'converted'. The more this happens the faster the rate of conversion.
• what did Moscovici research?

  Conformity to minority influence
• what were the groups in Moscovici's study?

  • 32 groups tested; each included 6 women (2 were confederates, 4 were real)
• what were the procedures of Moscovici's study?

  • groups were shown blue coloured slides which varied in hue
  • participants were then asked to verbally describe the colour they saw
  • in one part of the experiment, confederates wrongly always reported that the slides were green (consistent responses)
  • in another part of the experiment, confederates wrongly reported green 24 times and correctly reported blue 12 times (inconsistent responses)
• what were the findings of Moscovici's study?

  • 8.42% of participants in groups containing the minority of confederates who consistently called blue cards green agreed with the wrong answer
  • 1.25% of participants in groups containing the minority of confederates with inconsistent responses agreed with the wrong answer
  • participants were more likely to agree with a consistent minority privately (written responses) rather than aloud in public
• what research supports deeper processing in minority influence?

  Martin et al (2003)
• what were the procedures of the study by Martin et al (2003)?

  • participants were given a message supporting a particular view and measured their support
  • one group of participants then heard a minority group agree with the initial view while another heard this from a majority group
  • participants were finally exposed to a conflicting view and attitudes were measured again
• what were the results of the study by Martin et al (2003)?

  • found that people were less willing to change their opinions from first measurement to final measurement if they had listened to a minority group than if they were shared with a majority group
  • this suggest the minority group message had been more deeply processed and had a more enduring effect
• what research gives support for flexibility in minority influence?

  Nemeth (1986)
• what were the procedures of the study by Nemeth (1986)?

  • in groups of 4 ( 1 was a confederate), they discussed compensation for a victim of a ski-lift accident
  • in one condition, the minority argued for a low rate of compensation, but then compromised by offering slightly higher compensation
• what were the results of the study by Nemeth (1986)?

  • they found that the minority group in the second condition were much more successful at changing the majority groups views
• how is lack of real world applications a limitation/weakness of minority influence?

  • there are differences between real-life minorities and majorities - numbers, difference in power and status (makes it harder for minorities to have their views heard)
  • minorities are very committed to their causes, because they have to face very hostile opposition
• define social change

  • refers to the ways in which a society rather than an individual, develops over time to change beliefs, attitudes and behaviours with new norms and expectations e.g. women’s rights to vote
• define social influence

  • refers go the process by which individuals and groups change each others attitudes and behaviours
• what strategies are used in social change?

  • utilising minority groups
  • encouraging and internal locus of control and disobedience of authority
• what are examples of social change due to minority influence?

  • attitudes towards race and sexuality
  • being racist and homophobic used to be a norm, but after minority influence, eventually become accepted as new norms and those who continue to be racist/homophobic are pressured to hide it or change
  • hateful acts towards minorities used to be accepted and is now illegal
• what are discussion points of social change?

  • Nemeth - argued social change is a slow process, argues majority not exposed to main issue at hand and so main issue not resolved
  • this exposure takes a long time, meaning effects of social change are also delayed
  • this therefor suggests social change through minority influence cannot be relied upon to bring about long-term changes
• why is stereotypes a discussion point of resistance to social change?

  • Bashir - even when people know social change is needed people resist social change, it was found some minorities such as environmental activists or feminists were though to live up to stereotypes associated with these groups, which can be off-putting for outsiders
  • majority often doesn't want to be associated with a minority group for fear of being stereotypically labelled, e.g. homosexual males being overly feminine and camp