Minority Influence Flashcards
1
Q
What is Minority Influence?
A
refers to situations where one person or a small group of people (a minority) influences the beliefs and behaviour of other people
+
most likely to lead to internalisation
2
Q
What are the 3 Variables Affecting Minority Influence?
A
Consistency
Commitment
Flexibility
3
Q
Variables Affecting Minority Influence: Consistency
A
- consistency in a viewpoint can increase the amount of interest from other people
- synchronic consistency = agreement BETWEEN people within a minority (everyone saying the same thing)
- diachronic consistency = agreement within a minority OVER TIME (the view doesn’t change)
- this consistency can make other reconsider their own views
4
Q
Variables Affecting Minority Influence: Commitment
A
- sometimes minorities engage in quite extreme activities to draw attention to their views, this demonstrates commitment to their cause
- this gives the minority’s message more credibility because people are unlikely to be prepared to suffer for a cause which is not worthwhile
- this increase in credibility is known as the augmentation principle, we assign greater importance to a cause because they have fought against strong external “roadblocks”
5
Q
Variables Affecting Minority Influence: Flexibility
A
- consistency on its own can be interpreted negatively by others, minority groups could be seen as too rigid or dogmatic
- this can be off-putting to the majority and is unlikely to result in any conversions to the minority position
- instead members of the minority need to be prepared to adapt their point of view + accept reasonable counterarguments
6
Q
Minority Influence: Moscovici’s Aim
A
- to see how minorities can influence a majority to change their minds
- to see how consistency can affect the outcome
7
Q
Minority Influence: Moscovici’s Procedure
A
- 138 female ppts in groups of 6
(4 naive ppts and 2 confederates) - ppts were shown a series of coloured slides + asked to identify if they were blue or green in colour
8
Q
A
