Outline and evaluate research into minority social influence Flashcards
outline 3
A minority can more effectively influence a majority if they show three behavioural characteristics.
When a majority is first exposed to a minority opinion, they often assume the minority is incorrect or misguided.
– To overcome this, the minority must show consistency which is when each person in the minority group always expresses the same, unchanging opinion, perhaps over a long period of time.
By showing consistency the minority may influence the majority to think “they’ve been saying this for so long, maybe they have a point?”.
If the majority gives up easily, they will not be able to effectively influence the majority group. – Instead, the majority must show commitment which is when the minority shows persistence and determination without giving into pressure from the majority.
By showing commitment the minority may influence the majority to think, “they really must believe what they’re saying, perhaps I should consider their arguments?”.
If a minority expresses their opinion in a firm, dogmatic or narrow-minded way, it may be off-putting to the majority.
–Instead, the majority must show flexibility which is when the minority seems reasonable and non-dogmatic, by being open to the view of others.
By showing flexibility, the minority may influence the majority to think, “they seem really willing to discuss this issue, perhaps I could engage with their arguments?”.
moscovici
Moscovici (1969) recruited female participants using volunteer sampling and told they were taking part in a study concerning ‘visual perception’.
They were placed in groups of 6 with 4 genuine participants and 2 confederates (a minority).
Each group were shown 36 blue slides of various shades and asked to publicly state the colour.
There were 2 conditions: one in which the minority consistently gave the wrong answer and another where they gave the wrong answers inconsistently.
There was also a control condition with 6 genuine participants and no confederates.
Moscovici recorded the number of people who were influenced by the minority by saying the slide was green.
moscovici findings
Participants were influenced by the minority in 8.42% of consistent trials, by agreeing with the minority view that the blue slide was green.
Participants were influenced in 1.25% of inconsistent trials and only 0.25% of participants called the blue slide green, suggesting the task was unambiguous.
This shows that a minority can influence the majority to change their private attitudes or public behaviour, particularly if the majority is consistent.
commitment +
Strong evidence for the role of commitment in minority influence comes from Xie (2011).
They found there was a tipping point of just 10% of a population needed, at which a committed minority group begin to convert the majority to their way of thinking.
They showed that when participants were free to chat across networks the addition of a small but committed minority very quickly begin to shift the opinions of the minority.
This shows that commitment increases the effect of minority influence.
flexibility +
Strong evidence for the role of flexibility in minority influence comes from Nemeth (1987).
They found, in a stimulated jury situation where participants had to discuss the amount of compensation someone injured in a ski-lift accident should receive, participants were more influenced by a minority who showed a willingness to compromise than a minority who appeared rigid in their opinions.
his shows that flexibility increases the effect of minority influence.
limit mos 1
A limitation of Moscovici’s research is that it has low external validity due to its low mundane realism., which is when the procedure doesn’t seem mundane or like real life meaning the findings cannot be generalised to other settings.
This is because the procedure used a highly artificial task which is very different to how minorities might influence a majority in real life.
Therefore, the findings may tell us very little about minority influence in real life.
limit mos 2
Another limitation of the study is that it has low population validity, which is when the findings cannot be generalised to wider populations, decreasing external validity.
This is because the procedure only used female participants meaning it is difficult to apply the findings to how men conform to minorities.
