minority influence

• types of minority influence

  consistency, commitment and flexibility
• consistency


  minority must be consistent in views, over time consistency increase amount of interest from other people, makes people rethink own views

  • synchronic synchrony - consistency might be agreement between people in minority group
  • diachronic synchrony - consistency over time
• commitment


  minority engage in extreme activities to draw attention to view. Important have risk to minorities as demonstrates commitment to cause

  majority pay attention - augmentation principle
• flexibility


  Nemeth - consistency not only important factor in minority influence as can be off putting. Can be seen as too rigid

  members need to be be prepared to adapt POV and accept reasonable counter arguments
• snowball effect


  hearing something new may convert your ideas as it makes you think, especially if source is committed, consistent and flexible
• conversion


  may lead to internalisation as it's a deeper processing which is important in process of conversion to new mindset and internalisation
• Moscovici

  demonstrated minority influence in study of six people, asked to view 36 coloured slides varying in intensity

  participant state if slides blue or green, two confederates who said green

  findings- participant gave some wrong answers 8.42%

  inconsistent minority - 1.25%

  no confederates - 0.25%