MINORITY INFLUENCE Flashcards
What happens in the process of minority influence?
A minority rejects the established norm of the majority, and persuades the majority to move to the position of the minority
How did Moscovici demonstrate minority influence?
- 6 people studied 36 blue coloured slides
- they had to state whether each slide was blue or green
3 conditions: - control group
- 2 confederates consistently answered wrong
- 2 confederates inconsistently answered wrong
CONTROL: 0.25% answered wrong
CONSISTENT: ppts gave wrong answer on 8.42% of trials, 32% answered wrong at least once
INCONSISTENT: ppts gave wrong answer on 1.25% of trials
What were Moscovici’s results?
CONTROL: 0.25% answered wrong
CONSISTENT: ppts gave wrong answer on 8.42% of trials, 32% answered wrong at least once
INCONSISTENT: ppts gave wrong answer on 1.25% of trials
What did Moscovici conclude from his study?
If the minority is consistent, they are more influential
How does Wood support Moscovici?
Carried out a meta-analysis of over 100 studies, found that consistent minorities were the most influential
How has Moscovici’s study been criticised?
Artificial stimuli = lack of mundane realism, in real life influence may have bigger consequences such as a jury or campaign
ONLY FEMALE STUDENTS
What did Moscovici identify as the main processes for minority influence?
SYNCHRONIC/DIACHRONIC CONSISTENCY
COMMITMENT
FLEXIBILITY
DEPTH OF THOUGHT
What is synchronic consistency?
People in the minority are all saying the same thing
What is diachronic consistency?
The minority has been saying the same thing for a long time
How does commitment help minority influence?
Through the augmentation principle, engaging and committing to extreme activities will draw attention to a cause, increasing credibility and interest
How does flexibility help minority influence?
NEMETH argued that consistency can sometimes appear negatively rigid, therefore flexibility is more inviting, especially willingness to debate and negotiate
How does depth of thought impact minority influence?
- MARTIN gave ppts a viewpoint and measured their support
- 1 group heard a MAJORITY agree with the view
- 1 group heard a MINORITY agree with the view
- a conflicting view was given and attitudes were measured again
RESULTS:
those who had heard the minority agree with the first view were less likely to change their opinion
= the MINORITY VIEW had been more DEEPLY PROCESSED and had a more ENDURING EFFECT
How does Moscovici’s study support internalisation?
When ppts wrote their answers privately, there was greater agreement with the minority - they had changed their private opinion
What is social cryptoamnesia?
The change becomes the norm and the process of change is forgotten
