A minority changes the opinions of others through internalisation
minority influence leads to internalisation- both public behaviour and private beliefs are changed. three processes: consistency, commitment, flexibility.
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consistency- means the minority view gains more interest
consistency makes others rethink their own views. synchronic consistency- saying the same thing. diachronic consistency- saying the same thing for some time
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commitment- helps gain attention
activities must create some risk to the minority to demonstrate commitment to the cause. augmentation principle- majority pay even more attention.
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flexibility- minority should balance consistency and flexibility, dont appear rigid
Nemeth(1986) argued that being consistent and repeating the same arguments and behaviours is seen as rigid and off putting. the minority should adapt their point and accept reasonable counter-arguments.
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snowball effect- minority becomes the majority
over time, more people become converted. the minority view becomes the majority and social change has occurred.
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procedure- part 1
a group of six people viewed a set of 36 blue-green coloured slides varying in intensity, then stated whether the slides were blue or green.
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procedure- part 2
the study had three conditions: confederated consistently said the slides were green, confederates were inconsistent about the colour of the slides, a control group with no confederates.
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findings- part 1
consistent minority condition: participants gave the same wrong answer on 8.42% of trials, 32% gave the same answer on at least one trial.
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findings- part 2
inconsistent minority condition: agreement fell to 1.25%
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findings- part 3
control group: participants wrongly identified colour 0.25% of the time
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Strength 1- research evidence
Serge Moscovici et al (1969) found a consistent minority opinion had a greater effect on other people than an inconsistent opinion. this confirms that consistency is a major factor in minority influence.
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limitation 1- artificial tasks
Moscovici's task was identifying the colour of a slide, far removed from how minorites try to change majority opinion in real life. findings of studies lack external validity and are limited in what they tell us about how minority influence works.
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limitation 2- research is limited
studies make a clear distinction between majority and minority, but real-life situations are more complicated. minority influence research rarely reflects the dynamics of these groups so findings may not apply to real-life minority influence
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
consistency makes others rethink their own views. synchronic consistency- saying the same thing. diachronic consistency- saying the same thing for some time
Back
consistency- means the minority view gains more interest
Card 3
Front
activities must create some risk to the minority to demonstrate commitment to the cause. augmentation principle- majority pay even more attention.
Back
Card 4
Front
Nemeth(1986) argued that being consistent and repeating the same arguments and behaviours is seen as rigid and off putting. the minority should adapt their point and accept reasonable counter-arguments.
Back
Card 5
Front
over time, more people become converted. the minority view becomes the majority and social change has occurred.
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