Minority Infleunce

Question 1

What is Minority Influence?

Answer 1

● Minority influence is a type of social influence which results in a change of views amongst the majority of members within a group.
● It involves an individual or minority of a population persuading other members to accept their argument, even if this contradicts the more popular view held by the majority.

Question 2

What are the 3 key variables which effect MI?

Answer 2

1. Consistency
   Consistency is repeating the same message, challenging the beliefs held by the majority. Consistency may be within the members of the group or over time. This draws attention to the minority view.
2. Commitment
   Commitment is shown when members of the minority demonstrate their dedication to their belief, perhaps by making sacrifices. This shows that the minority is not acting out of self-interest.
3. Flexibility
   Flexibility is when a group adapts their views, accepting other valid counter-arguments, and perhaps agreeing some form of change to the proposed view. Cannot be dogmatic.

Question 3

A03 - Research support for flexibility

Answer 3

-There is research support for the importance of flexibility.
-Nemeth and Brilmayer studied the flexibility in a simulated jury situation where group members discussed the amount of compensation to be paid to someone involved in a ski-lift accident.
- When a confederate put forward an alternative point of view and refused to change his position, this had no effect on other group members.
- A confederate who compromised and therefore showed some degree of shift towards the majority did exert an influence on the rest of the group.

Question 4

A03 - Research Support for consistency

Answer 4

-Moscovici et al. provide support for the importance of consistency in minority influence.
-They developed two conditions: consistent and inconsistent.
-Participants were asked to name the colour of 36 slides, all of which were blue of varying brightness.
- In the consistent condition, 8.4% of participants gave the incorrect answer of green and 32% gave the incorrect answer at least once.
- Whereas, in the inconsistent condition, 1.25% of participants gave the answer as green.
- Therefore, this supports the notion that when consistency is displayed, minority influence can have an effect on the majority.

Question 5

A03 - Commitment tipping point

Answer 5

-Later computer modelling-based research has established a tipping point where the number of people holding a minority position is sufficient to change majority opinion.
- Xie et al developed computer models of social networks, with ‘individuals’ free to ‘chat’ with each other across the networks.
-Each individual held a ‘traditional’ view, but were also open to other views.
- They then added some committed individuals representing an alternative point of view, which they expressed consistently.
- The percentage of committed opinion holders necessary to ‘tip’ the majority into accepting the minority position was just 10%.
-Therefore, minority influence may be effective if the group consists of enough committed individuals.

Question 6

What is the snowball effect and augementation principle?

Answer 6

The augmentation principle
If a minority appears willing to suffer for their views, they are seen as more committed and so taken more seriously by others. Because the suffragettes were willing to risk imprisonment or even death from hunger strike, their influence became more powerful (i.e. it was augmented). (commitment)

The snowball effect
Minority influence initially has a relatively small effect but this then spreads more widely as more and more people consider the Issues being promoted, until it reaches a ‘tipping point’, at which point it leads to wide-scale social change and minority becomes majority.