Through ISI

• Minorities can exert influence over majorities if they remain consistant in their massage.
• Step 1 and step 2

  1. Drawing attention to the issue: black separation applied in 1950’s. There were civil right marches and acts of protests in this period drew attention to the subject.
  2. Consistency: many marches and many people taking part, civil rights activist showed consistency.
• Step 3 and step 4

  3. cognitive conflict: minority message creates conflict between majority so forced to think more deeply.

  4. augmentation principle: minorities are willing to make personal sacrifice to be seen as more committed. e.g. freedom riders were beaten and hurt.
• Step 5 and step 6


  5. The snowball effect: message continues to spread and more people begin to support the minority view. It eventually reaches a ‘topping’ point leading to widespread social change.

  6. social cryptomnesia: occurs same time after social change has taken place. People know that social change has occurred but they forgot where it all started and the events that led up to the change.