Minority Influence

1
Minority Influence

• Lesson objectives

• Suggest cases of minority influence in action
• Outline Moscovicis study of minority influence
• Explore and discuss factors affecting minority
  influence
• Evaluate Moscovicis research

2
If the majority always wins.

• How do we explain?
• Suffragette movement
• Christianity
• Nazism
• Green movement

3
Moscovici et al (1969) Aim

• To see whether a consistent minority of
  participants could influence a majority to give
  an incorrect answer in a colour perception test.

4
Procedure

• 172 participants. No colour blindness.
• Six participants at a time were asked to
  estimate the colour of 36 slides.
• All the slides were blue, but of differing
  brightness.
• Two of the six participants were accomplices of
  the experimenter.

5
Procedure

• Two conditions
• Consistent the two accomplices called the slides
  green on all the trials
• Inconsistent the two accomplices called the
  slides green 24 times, and blue 12 times

6
Findings

• Participants in the consistent condition yielded
  and called the slides green in 8.4 of the trials
• 32 of participants in the consistent condition
  reported a green slide at least once
• Participants in the inconsistent condition
  yielded and called the slides green in only 1.3
  of the trials

7
Conclusion

• Minorities can influence a majority in certain
  circumstances
• Consistency was found to be the most important
  factor
• Flexibility
• Commitment
• Relevance time for change
• Informational social influence
• Internalisation (conversion)

8
Evaluation?

• Laboratory study
• All female participants
• All American participants
• Ethics deception, informed consent, right to
  withdraw, debrief?