Minority influence

• What is minority influence?

  A form of social influence in which a minority of people persuade others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes or behaviours. Leads to internalisation or conversion, in which private attitudes are changed as well as public behaviours.
• What are the three processes of minority influence?

  Consistency, commitment and flexibility.
• What is consistency?

  Minority influence is most effective if the minority keeps the same beliefs, both over time and between all the individuals that form the minority. It's effective because it draws attention to the minority view.
• What is commitment?

  Minority influence is more powerful if the minority demonstrates dedication to their position, for example, by making personal sacrifices. This is effective because it shows the minority is not acting out of self-interest.
• What is flexibility?

  Relentless consistency could be counter-productive if it is seen by the majority as unbending and unreasonable. Therefore minority influence is more effective if the minority shows flexibility by accepting the possibility of compromise.
• AO3 - Research supporting consistency:

  Wood et al. conducted a meta-analysis of almost 100 similar studies and found that minorities seen as being consistent were most influential. This confirms that consistency is a major factor in minority influence.
• AO3 - Research showing role of deeper processing:

  Martin et al. gave participants a message supporting a particular viewpoint, and measured attitudes. Then they heard an endorsement of view from either a minority or a majority. Finally heard a conflicting view, attitudes measured again. Participants were less willing to change their opinions to the new conflicting view if they had listened to a minority group than if they listened to a majority group. This suggests that the minority message had been more deeply processed and had a more enduring effect.
• What is deeper processing?

  Individuals think deeply about the minority position because it is new/unfamiliar.
• AO3 - Limited real-world application:

  Research studies usually make a very clear distinction between the majority and the minority. Real-life social influence situations are much more complicated than this. There is more involved in this difference between a minority and majority than just numbers. For examples, majorities usually have a lot more power and status than minorities.