AO3

• A weakness is that The tasks involved in minority influence research are artificial – in example, identifying the colour of a slide.

  -Research is therefore far removed from how minorities attempt to change the behaviour of majorities in real life. In cases such as jury decision making and political campaigning, the outcomes are vastly more important, sometimes even a matter of life and death. 

  -This is a limitation of minority influence as it suggests that findings lack external validity and cannot apply to real life
• A strength is that Moscovici et al.’s study showed that a consistent minority opinion had a greater effect on other people than an inconsistent opinion

  -Wood et al. (1994) carried out a meta-analysis of 97 studies and found that minorities who were seen as being consistent were most influential. 

  -This provides research evidence for the effect of consistency
• A strength is there is research support for flexibility

  -Nemeth (1986) studied the role of flexibility in a simulated jury situation where group members discuss the amount of compensation to be given to the victim of a ski-lift accident.

  -When the confederate (the minority) put forward an alternative view and refused to change, there was no effect on the majority. But when the confederate compromised there was an effect and the majority’s position changed.
• What is a weakness Research studies make a clear and obvious distinction between the minority and majority due to the controlled settings.

  -However, in real-life social influence, situations are much more complicated and there is more involved in this distinction than just the number of people in the majority/minority.

  -For example, majorities tend to have a lot more power and status than minorities.
• And minorities

  -tend to be very tight-knit groups who know each other very well as they turn to each other for support in the face of hostility. 
• A strength is real life evidence for commitment

  -E For example, suffragettes went on hunger strikes and faced imprisonment, demonstrating commitment by sacrificing their health and freedom, which helped shift public opinion over time.-This supports the idea that commitment can persuade the majority that the minority has a valid, deeply held belief.