Minority influence

• What is minority influence?

  The minority influencing the majority
• What impact does minority influence have?

  Powerful - lead to internalisation
• What was the Moscovici study?

  • 36 shades of blue slides were shown to 6 people -> 4 participants and 2 confederates
  • Condition 1: Inconsistent group (responded green 24 times and blue 12 times) reported 1.25% minority influence
  • Condition 2: Consistent group (responded green every time) reported a 8.42% minority influence
  • This demonstrates how consistent minority groups are more likely to influence the majority -> internalisation
• What percentage of minority influence did the control group obtain in Moscovici's study?

  0.25%
• What is consistency?

  Acting more performing in the same way over time
• How have the suffragettes demonstrated consistency?

  They shared the same goals for all women and relentlessly fought for them. Through their persistent activism, they constantly advocated for women's voting rights in the UK.
• What is diachronic consistency?

  When a group behaves coherently over time (consistency OVER TIME)
• What is synchronic consistency?

  When all members of a group agree and share the same message (consistency BETWEEN ITS MEMBERS)
• What is commitment?

  The state of quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity
• How did the suffragettes demonstrate commitment?

  Through protests and civil disobedience, extreme measures like hunger strikes and enduring imprisonment were performed in order to fight for women's rights. They also used lobbying techniques to force members of parliament to act.
• What is the augmentation principle?

  Going to extreme lengths to show commitment to a minority cause.

  This is because strong commitment in the face of ridicule or hostility may lead the majority to believe the minority have a point.
• How did Emily Davison demonstrate the augmentation principle?

  She flung herself in front of the King's horse at the Epsom Derby to raise awareness for women's rights to vote
• What is flexibility?

  Being able to adapt ones message, in response to accepting any valid and reasonable counter arguments.

  In a flexible condition, the majority is much more likely to change their view and go along with the minority
• How did Nemeth (1986) investigate flexibility?

  • Participants in groups of four had to agree on the amount of compensation they would give to a victim of a ski-lift accident
  • One of the p's was a confederate in each group
  • There were two conditions: 1) argued for a low rate of compensation and refused to change his position (inflexible), 2) argued for a low rate of compensation but compromised by offering a slightly higher rate of compensation (flexible)
• What was Nemeth's findings?

  He found that in the inflexible condition, the minority had little to no effect on the majority but in the flexible condition, the majority was much more likely to compromise and change their view and meet at a middle
• What is the snowball effect?

  A situation where something starts small and gains momentum, growing in significance or intensity over time
• How was the snowball effect demonstrated in the suffragettes movement?

  It lasted around 100 years, gaining momentum, intensity and support through time
• What is social cryptomnesia?

  The phenomenon where individuals fail to remember the origins of a change in society, accompanied by forgetting or downplaying the disproportionate suffering and sacrifice of those who led the change
• How is social cryptomnesia shown in the suffragettes movement?

  Many do not acknowledge the actions they took to achieve partial feminism. Also, women are still alienated in society with sexism being a main concern still, the majority of society have yet to give adequate attention to said changes
• How can social cryptomnesia be reduced?

  Conscientisation, which involves critical reflection on the issue
• What extraneous factors may affect minority influence?

  Personality of people or main person associated with the group rather than with their cause
• What is an issue with both Moscovici and Nemeth's research?

  Low in mundane realism (low internal validity)
• How does the Moscovici study compare to the suffragettes movement?

  The social dynamics and consequences were arguably very different. The suffragettes had to remain consistent, committed and flexible throughout the entire movement to gain the right to vote, they were determined to be seen in a different light and remained a strong community to fight for a cause, whereas there was not much of a social impact in Moscovici's artificial study, questioning the accuracy of research