Minority Influence and Social Change

• How is minority influence defined in psychology?

  Majority adopts minority views
• Three factors that make a minority group more able to change majority views are consistency, commitment, and flexibility
• Consistency in minority influence refers to repeating the same message over time or across group members.
• What is synchronic consistency in minority influence?

  All group members agree
• An example of synchronic consistency is government ministers following the party line
• Commitment in minority influence involves willingness to suffer for beliefs.
• What is the augmentation principle in attribution theory?

  Actions despite deterrence show strong motivation
• Flexibility in minority influence demonstrates that the minority is open to valid counter-arguments
• A dogmatic minority is more likely to influence the majority than a flexible minority.

  False
• How does the Snowball Effect relate to minority influence?

  Influence spreads exponentially
• In mosichi's study, a consistent minority was able to convince the majority in 8% of trials.
• Neth's mock jury study showed that a flexible confederate was more successful in reducing compensation levels.
• What type of validity is compromised in laboratory-based studies of minority influence?

  Ecological validity
• Examples of commitment in real life include hunger strikes by the suffragettes and speeches by Civil Rights Movement leaders
• The LGBTQ+ Rights Movement's push for civil partnerships demonstrates the principle of flexibility.
• How can the principles of minority influence be applied to encourage positive social change?

  Consistency, commitment, flexibility
• Social change occurs when a minority group's views are adopted by the entire society
• Governments use laws to enforce social change by leveraging obedience to authority.
• What type of social influence is most likely to lead to long-term behavioral change?

  Informational social influence
• Social cryptoamnesia refers to the tendency to forget the sacrifices made by minority groups in promoting a new idea
• Minority groups are often demonized by the media for their disruptive actions.
• What are two real-life examples of social change discussed in the evaluations section?

  Civil Rights Movement, LGBTQ+ Rights Movement
• One criticism of social change research is that it relies on natural experiments that do not establish cause-and-effect