Studies in social influence III: Majority versus minority influence in a group

Serge Moscovici · Élisabeth Lage

197 citations0/0 files storedEuropean Journal of Social Psychology

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Psychology of Social Influence Social and Intergroup Psychology Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence

Abstract

Abstract This experimental study was aimed at investigating the mechanisms of influence involved in the two functionally opposed phenomena of innovation and conformity. We have been concerned for several years with the former of these two phenomena because of its intrinsic importance and the limited amount of research devoted to it. In the present article we have attempted not only to analyse the position more thoroughly, but also to compare the effects of innovation with those of conformity. In particular, we have endeavoured to show that behavioural style acts as a general source of influence in the two phenomena under consideration, where manifest judgments are concerned. On the other hand, the latent effects of influence may be different in the two cases of innovation and conformity. To investigate these questions, we developed an experimental design consisting of three parts. The first part was intended to study manifest influence on a quasi‐physical judgment based on a cultural truism. The second part was aimed at the study of latent modifications in the perceptual‐cognitive code as a result of influence. The third, in the form of a postexperimental questionnaire, was intended to provide information about various aspects, including the perception of the agent of influence by subjects. The main function of the experimental manipulations was to vary the minority or majority relationship of the agent of influence within a group, and its behavioural style, consistent or inconsistent. Our main findings indicate that behavioural consistency is the main factor behind the influence exerted by both majority and minority. But whereas, in conformity, influence is limited to modifying manifest judgments, in innovation, it changes the perceptual‐cognitive code underlying such judgments.

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References

1962Statistical principles in experimental design.1956Studies of independence and conformity: I. A minority of one against a unanimous majority.1969Influence of a Consistent Minority on the Responses of a Majority in a Color Perception Task 1972Social Influence, Conformity Bias, and the Study of Active Minorities

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1980Studies in social influence 1985Nonverbal Cues and Status: An Expectation States Approach 2000Power relations in intergroup encounters: a case study of Jewish–Arab encounters in Israel 2010Influence and Leadership 1996Studies in self‐categorization and minority conversion: Is being a member of the out‐group an advantage?1986Toward an integration of some models and theories of social response.1988An integration of process and decision scheme explanations of group problem solving performance 2000Majority-Minority Influence: Identifying Argumentative Patterns and Predicting Argument-Outcome Links

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