Minority Influence and Compliance

4 Parts:

Minority Influence Study: Moscovici and Nemeth

Compliance

Referencing this Article

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These two topics are similar, but it is very important that you do not confuse the two since there is a difference.

1. 1
   Minority Influence

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   This involves a minority persuading the majority regarding a particular opinion.

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2. 2
   Compliance

   .

   This involves someone persuading you to agree to do something (usually buy their product).

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The research into conformity has been focused on majority, and the effects of the minorities have been neglected.

Aim	To discover how a minority affects a majority, depending on where they sit.
Method	Groups of 5 people (including one confederate) were asked to make jury-style decisions. The confederate was either assigned to, or chose A, B, or C (see below). They also had to take a minority view.
Results	Little influence when assigned to any seat. But when the confederate chose where to sit; position C was very influential.
Conclusion	Minority influence is more likely when one is the focus of attention.
Evaluation	This experiment has good ecological validity, as making decisions in a group is the sort of task that someone commonly encounters in their life.

Factors

Through research such as that described above, and others, Moscovici (1985) concluded minority influence was more likely under the following conditions.

1. 1
   Consistency

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   The opinion expressed must remain the same.

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2. 2
   Flexibility

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   The minority must not appear too rigid and dogmatic.

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3. 3
   Commitment

   .

   If the minority shows itself dedicated to the issue, then conversion may result (where someone comes over to your cause), rather than compliance.

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4. 4
   Relevance

   .

   The position must be consistent with social trends.

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Compliance is getting other people to agree with a request. This is different from conformity, because it relates to a specific thing. An example would be salespeople selling door-to-door, or in a shop.

Techniques for Gaining Compliance

Techniques for gaining compliance are based on the following things.

1. 1
   Scarcity

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   Compliance is more likely when we think something is in short supply. For example, if you are told a shop only has one or two of the items left in stock, you will be more likely to buy it.

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2. 2
   Friendship

   .

   If someone is our friend or we like them, compliance is more likely.

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3. 3
   Social Validation

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   This is if we think we should do something. For example, we may be more likely to donate to charity because it is perceived as something we should do.

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4. 4
   Authority

   .

   Compliance is more likely with an authoritative figure. It is important that you do not confuse this with obedience.

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5. 5
   Reciprocity

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   If you owe a favour to someone, i.e they've already done something for you, you are apt to be more compliant. An example: If you go into a car salesroom and look interested, the salesperson may give you a warm drink, or if you are considering buying something very expensive they may take you out to dinner, etc. These are methods employed to make you more compliant.

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If you need to reference this article in your work, you can copy-paste the following depending on your required format:

APA (American Psychological Association)
Minority Influence and Compliance. (2017). In ScienceAid. Retrieved Apr 26, 2024, from https://scienceaid.net/psychology/social/minority.html

MLA (Modern Language Association) "Minority Influence and Compliance." ScienceAid, scienceaid.net/psychology/social/minority.html Accessed 26 Apr 2024.

Chicago / Turabian ScienceAid.net. "Minority Influence and Compliance." Accessed Apr 26, 2024. https://scienceaid.net/psychology/social/minority.html.

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