Minority Influence AO1

• Minority Influence 


  When a minority persuade others to change their minds/behaviour
• Changes that occur


  • Private views change
  • Public views change
• 3 main processes of minority influence

  1. Consistency

  2. Commitment

  3. Flexibility
• Consistency


  • Repeating the same message
  • Challenging the beliefs held by the majority
  • Can be synchronic (within the minority group) or diachronic (over time)
  • Draws attention to the minority view
• Consistency example


  • Moscovici had groups view 36 slides of different shades of blue, confederates consistently said the slides were green and participants agreed on 8.42% of the trials
  • When confederates were inconsistent, participants only changed their minds on 1.25% of the trials
  • With no confederates, 'green' was said only on 0.25% of the trials
• Commitment


  • Minority demonstrate their dedication to their belief, perhaps by making sacrifices (the augmentation principle)
  • Shows the minority is not acting out of self-interest
• Flexibility


  • Minority are non-dogmatic
  • Prepared to adapt and accept reasoned and valid counterarguments
• Over time


  The majority change their views because of deeper processing, but it is gradual (the 'snowball effect')