Minority influence Flashcards
(14 cards)
What is a minority influence?
when one person or a small group changed the beliefs or a behaviour of a larger group.
What type of conformity does this often lead to?
Internalisation - a lasting change in both public and private beliefs.
Who first studied minority influence?
Serge Moscovici - through the blue slide, green slide experiment.
What did his research help identify?
The three key processes of minority influence: consistency, commitment, and flexibility.
Why is consistency important in minority influence?
It shows the minority is confident and united, making the majority rethink their lives.
What are two types of consistency?
Synchronic consistency - all members agree
Diachronic consistency - message stays the same over time.
How does commitment affect minority influence?
Risky or extreme actions show dedication, increasing attention and respect from others.
What is the augmentation principle?
The augmentation principle is when people take views more seriously when there’s personal sacrifice involved.
Why is flexibility important in minority influence?
Being too rigid can seem dogmatic. flexibility show s open-mindedness, making the minority more persuasive.
What is the snowball effect in minority influence?
When the minority slowly converts more people, momentum builds, and the minority view becomes a majority.
What process makes the snowball affect possible?
Deeper processing - people think more deeply about the minority’s viewpoint.
Why is research into minority influence seen as scientifically credible?
studies like Moscovici’s used controlled lab settings, allowing researchers to control and isolate variables like consistency and measure their impact.
How does having more control in the experiment improve the findings?
High internal validity, we can be more confident that changed in opinion were caused by the manipulation of the minority’s behaviour.
What’s a weakness of lab studies on minority influence?
They use artificial tasks, which don’t reflect real-life issues or consequences.
Limits the external validity and findings are not generalisable to real-world situations like political movements.
