SOCIAL INFLUENCE ( Minority influence & social change ) Flashcards
(14 cards)
Define Minority influence
Minority influence is a form of social influence where a persuasive minority changes the attitudes & behaviour of the majority
Define social change
A whole society adapts a new belief or way of behaving which then becomes widely accepted or the norm
examples of minorities that have changed society
Nelson Mandela , Rosa parks , Martin Luther
Outline consistency as a way to achieve minority influence & social change
A minority must be stable in their opinion over time and thee must agreement among the minority
Outline Moscovici’s experiment into consistency
Aim : To see if a consistent minority can influence a majority to give an incorrect answer in a colour perception test
Method : - Female americans asked to take part in an experiments on colour perceptions. Were asked to estimate the colour out loud ( all slides were different shades of blue) . Two ppts were confederates. They were two conditions i) Consistent : confederates called the slides green on all trials ii) Inconsistent : the confederates called the slides green 24 times and blue 12 times
Findings : Ppts in the consistent condition were influenced by the minority calling green 8.2% of the trails the other condition called green 1.3% of the trials
Evaluate Moscovici’s research into consistency
Strength - found that the group were more influenced by a consistent minority
limitations - is it realistic? RW application , was a lab experiment may be criticised , gender bias ( gynocentric gender bias)
Outline commitment as a way to achieve minority influence & social change , give supporting evidence
Commitment - a minority must be dedicated to their cause. The greater their dedication , the greater their influence.
Example : Martin luther king & Nelson Mandela
MLK and NM led civil rights movements and were consistent in their views against apartheid for years which helped to bring social change demonstrating that a consistent minority can lead to social change
Outline flexibility as a way to achieve minority influence & social change
flexibility - although a minority must be consistent , they must show a willingness to compromise when expressing their opinions
Define consistency of position in the process of social change
When minorities express their arguments consistently ( Moscovici) blue experiment
Define Augmentation principle in the process of social change
when a minority appears willing to suffer for their views , they are seen as more committed and so are taken more seriously by others
Define Snowball effect in the process of social change
the snowball effect describes one way in which minorities convert majorities . Members of the majority slowly move towards the minority and as the minority grows in size it gradually picks up momentum so that more and more majority members convert to the minority opinion.
Define drawing attention to the issue in the process of social change
Being exposed to a minority view point eg. protests
Define cognitive conflict to the issue in the process of social change
The minority creates a conflict between what the majority currently believe and the position of the minority
Evaluate social influence processes in social change
STRENGTHS :
Consistency & commitment - as shown in Moscovici’s study , they are powerful tools for social change . Historical examples include civil rights activists like Martin Luther King , who consistently promoted his views
Nemeth’s research also shows that flexibility is crucial - minorities show a willingness to negotiate are more likely to influence the majority
WEAKNESSES :
The process is often slow and indirect . People may agree in principle but take time to act ( eg. climate change movements)
Studies often lab-based eg. Moscovici , reducing ecological validity and making it harder to apply to real-world movements
