Minority Influence

• What are the three factors that make a minority group more able to influence the majority?

  Consistency, commitment, and flexibility.
• What does consistency mean in the context of minority influence?

  It means that members of the minority group need to repeat the same message.
• What is dionic consistency?

  It is when individuals within the minority group repeat the same message over a long period of time.
• What is synchronic consistency?

  It is when all members of the minority group are consistent with each other and have the same clear message.
• How do government ministers exemplify synchronic consistency?

  They follow the party line and present a united public opinion on important issues.
• Why is showing commitment important for a minority group?

  It demonstrates that they are willing to suffer for their beliefs, which can increase trust in their position.
• What is a good example of commitment mentioned in the study material?

  The suffragettes who went on hunger strikes and were arrested for civil disobedience.
• What does the augmentation principle refer to?

  It refers to the idea that if someone performs an action despite significant obstacles, it alters our assumptions about their underlying motives.
• How does flexibility contribute to minority influence?

  It shows that the minority is reasonable and open to valid counterarguments, making them more persuasive.
• How can a group of green campaigners demonstrate flexibility?

  By shifting their position from an immediate ban on fossil fuel cars to advocating for discounts on electric cars.
• What is the Snowball Effect in minority influence?

  • It refers to the process where minority influence starts slowly but can build up quickly as more individuals convert, potentially leading to a majority view.
• What did Moscovici's study on consistent minorities reveal?

  Consistent minorities were more effective in convincing the majority than inconsistent minorities.
• What was the outcome of Moschi's study regarding the majority's response to consistent minorities?

  68% of real participants did not conform to the consistent minority.
• What did Nemeth's study on flexible minorities find?

  Flexible minorities were more successful in convincing the majority to adjust their compensation offers.
• What are the limitations of lab-based studies on minority influence?

  They often lack mundane realism and ecological validity, making them less applicable to real-world scenarios.
• How can real-life examples of minority influence support theoretical concepts?

  They illustrate the roles of commitment, flexibility, and consistency in achieving social change.
• What are some historical examples of minority influence mentioned in the study material?

  • Suffragettes showing commitment through hunger strikes.
  • Civil Rights Movement leaders promoting equality.
  • LGBTQ+ activists campaigning for civil partnerships.
• What is the relationship between minority influence and social change?

  Minority influence can lead to social change when a minority group challenges the majority's views and attitudes.
• How do governments use minority influence to enact social change?

  Governments create and enforce laws that influence societal behaviour.
• What is normative social influence?

  It is the influence that leads individuals to conform to the expectations of the majority to be accepted.
• What is informational social influence?

  It occurs when individuals conform to the majority because they believe the majority is providing accurate information.
• What is social crypto amnesia?

  It is when society forgets the origins of an idea promoted by a minority group after it becomes mainstream.
• How can extreme actions by minority groups lead to social change?

  They can draw media attention and eventually lead to mainstream acceptance of their ideas.
• What are the evaluations of social change based on real-life examples?

  • Civil Rights Movement leaders showed consistency and commitment.
  • LGBTQ+ activists demonstrated flexibility in their campaign for marriage equality.
• Hogg & Vaughn (2002)

  consistency causes the majority to reassess their own viewpoints as doubt and uncertainty creeps in, more so as the minority persist in their viewpoint despite majority opposition, social pressure and rejection forcing the majority to take notice. 
• In contrast, a minority group which is too flexible in their own beliefs and standing may show themselves to be inconsistent in them so a moderate level of flexibility is seen as important for minority influence to be effective.
• Strengths of Minority Influence

  • Research supporting consistency - Wood’s meta-analysis of studies similar to Moscovici and found that consistent minorities were most influential.
  • Research supporting processing - Martin showed a viewpoint and measured participants agreement. One group heard a minority view and one group heard a majority view. People were less likely to change their opinion if they had heard the minority group’s view, suggesting that this view is processed deeper.
• Weaknesses of Minority Influence


  • Artificiality - Moscovici’s task was mundane and lacked realism. Often in reality minorities attempt to influence the majority about huge issues surrounding religion, race and gender, sometimes with a “life or death” impact. Research lacks this, which impacts on the external validity of findings.
  • Power of minority influence - Moscovici’s study found consistent agreement with a minority was 8%, which shows it is rare for a minority to influence a majority.
• Moscovici (1969)

  provided support for the role of consistency in minority influence through a separate laboratory study involving 32 groups of 6 females. The groups were asked to identify the color presented to them which was always blue but varying shades. However two group members who were confederates always answered incorrectly either all the time or most of the time to measure the impact consistency would have on the majority. 
• Moscovici (1969) : Results

  when the confederates were consistent in their responses and stated the slides were green, 8% of the majority agreed also.

  
  

  This was also seen to be higher when the group members were asked to write down their responses rather than state them out loud.
• When confederates gave inconsistent answers varying from blue and green their influence dropped to 1.25%. This supports consistency as an important element for social influence to occur from minority groups.
• Moscovici's study lacks external validity

  the participants were female and results gained from just one gender may not translate to males due to gender bias in the findings.

  
  

  Generally research suggests women are more conformist than men and the results for a mixed group may also be different between men and women. 
• Nemeth (1987): support for the role of flexibility being important for minority influence to occur.

  • Groups of three participants and one confederate had to decide the level of compensation to pay a ski-lift accident victim.
  • When the confederate refused to change their position from arguing for a lower amount, this had no effect on the majority.
  • When the confederate was willing to be flexible and compromise to a slightly higher amount this also influenced the majority to lower their demands.
• Social change can occur through either minority influence or majority influence.
• Moscovici (1968): conversion process


  The minority group must gradually persuade the majority that its ideas and beliefs are correct and not just tolerable. If it unfolds successfully, it can lead to the internalisation of minority beliefs by the majority.
• Internalisation

  This occurs when the majority changes their private beliefs and behaviour in response to the minority's pressure.
• An example of this is the suffragettes who used educational, political and various tactics to draw attention to the issue of only men having voting rights and women being denied this. Over time, this consistent message and view came to be adopted by the masses, highlighting how a minority can bring about social change
• Examples of Augmentation Principle


  Martin Luther King who put himself forward for the causes at great personal risk which ultimately lead to greater support and recognition from the majority and effecting social change of equal rights for ethnic groups. 
• Snowball Effect


  As more people shift over to the minority opinion this then makes it easier for others to do so as the pressure to conform is less. The minority opinion spreads and becomes more widely adopted leading to a tipping point where it leads to wide-scale social changes.
• Augmentation Principle


  states that people perceive the beliefs of a person or group as stronger if they take action despite facing obstacles, opposition, or difficulties. This is because the group is seen to be willing to "suffer" for their cause, making them more influential than others.