minority influence

• define minority influence

  small group or individual influences majority to adopt beliefs or behaviours

  • leads to internalisation
• who studied minority influence?

  Moscovici
• aim

  investigate effect of consistent minority on majority opinion
• method

  • 6 participants (4 real and 2 confederates)
  • asked to identify colour of 36 blue slides

  1. consistent majority = confederate said all slides were green
  2. inconsistent = confederates said some were green and some were blue
• findings

  • consistent = influenced 8.42%
  • inconsistent = influenced 1.25%
• what are the 3 key factors in minority influence?

  1. consistency
  2. commitment
  3. flexibility
• outline consistency

  stable and confident

  • synchronic = all members say same thing
  • diachronic = message remains same over time
• outline commitment

  show dedication through personal sacrifice
• outline flexibility

  willing to compromise

  • being too dogmatic can be off-putting
• weakness - no guarantee

  • Nemeth
  • minorities struggle as seen as criminal
  • balance consistency with reasonable and adaptable
• strength - research support

  • Moscovici et al
  • consistent minority is most effective
  • lacks ecological validity
• strength - long term change

  • real-world social change
  • e.g. civil rights movement, LGBTQ+ rights
  • slow and resisted