Minority Influence

• Minority influence


  Situations where one person or a small group of people influence the beliefs and behaviours of others, leading to internalisation of the minority's views
• Minority influence requires


  • Consistency
  • Flexibility
  • Commitment
• Consistency


  The minority must be consistent in their opposition to the majority, both synchronically (within the group) and diachronically (over time)
• Flexibility


  The minority should appear flexible and compromising, rather than rigid and unbending
• Commitment


  The minority must demonstrate dedication to their position, even if it involves personal sacrifice
• Minority influence is longer lasting than majority influence because the majority processes the minority's ideas at a deeper level
• Minority influence


  The role of a consistent minority upon the opinions of a majority in a clear, unambiguous situation
• Moscovici et al. (1969) conducted a study called 'The Role of a Consistent Minority'
• In condition 1, the consistent minority had an impact on the majority 8.2% of the time
• In condition 2, the inconsistent minority had an impact on the majority only 1.25% of the time
• Ecological validity/Artificial task


  • Participants in laboratory experiments are rarely 'real groups', they are a collection of students who do not know each other and will probably never meet again
  • Participants are involved in an artificial task and may succumb to demand characteristics
  • Very different from minority groups in the wider society who seek to change majority opinion
• Limited results


  • The figure for agreement with a consistent minority was actually very low (average 8%), suggesting minority influence is quite rare and not a useful concept
• When participants wrote down their answers privately, they were more likely to agree with the minority view
• Individuals can still resist social change

  • Participants were less likely to behave in environmentally friendly ways because they did not want to be associated with stereotypical and minority 'environmentalists'
• Role of deeper processing in minority influence may be wrong


  • Evidence suggests it is majority (rather than minority) influence that may create deeper processing if you do not share their views
• Using social influence processes (conformity, obedience, minority influence)


  The government could tackle the obesity crisis