ISSN:0144-6665    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1996.tb01078.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0144-6665    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1996.tb01079.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Two experiments are reported comparing majority and minority influence on attitudinal (opinion) vs. objective (knowledge) tasks. The hypothesis that minority influence would decline on objective items was tested by exposing subjects either to a minority or majority influence source; the question under discussion was either objective (‘from which country does Italy import most of its raw oil?’) or attitudinal (‘from which country should Italy import most of its raw oil?’). Experiment 1 showed that, compared to a no‐influence control group, majorities exerted a reliable influence on both objective and attitudinal issues whereas minorities were persuasive only on attitudinal issues. Experiment 2 indicated that this was true only for subjects who were uncertain of their own position, while minorities were unable to convince highly certain subjects regardless of type of task. Implications of these findings for the comparison of conformity and minority influence research are

ISSN:0144-6665    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1996.tb01080.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The potential of attribution theory to explain social influence processes is discussed. It is suggested that distinctiveness across topics may be an important determinant of influence by affecting both attributions to a position's external validity and the positivity of attributions to the source. In a laboratory experiment, university students read about a communicator who expressed a moderately counter‐attitudinal position for whichconsensusin the reference population was said to be low (implying minority status) or high (implying majority status). In addition, information about high or lowdistinctivenessacross topics and high or lowconsistencyover time was provided. Open‐ended attributions and judgements about the communicator and the target issue were assessed. It was predicted and found that high (vs. low) distinctiveness led to more frequent topic attributions, more positive person attributions and greater liking of the communicator. In addition, female (but not male) subjects reported higher ratings of persuasiveness and attitudes closer to the advocated position when distinctiveness was high rather than low. These preliminary results suggest that social influence research may benefit from studying effects of a source's distinctiveness across topics in addition to its behavioural consiste

ISSN:0144-6665    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1996.tb01081.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Minority influence research has focused on behavioural factors that lead to successful social influence, such as acting in a consistent manner, but has tended to ignore the psychological processes that may mediate successful influence. Moscovici (1976) posited that such psychological mediators include attributions concerning the causes for the minority's behaviour and a validation process in which subjects carefully consider the issues raised by the minority position. The current article examines the links between social cognition theories of stereotyping and attitude/impression formation and minority influence by delineating the role of both attributions and systematic message appraisal in minority influence. Successful minority influence was predicted to be dependent on the types of attributions formed towards the minority because such attributions influence the manner in which we attend to and think about a minority position. The data reveal that subjects with positive attributions were more influenced by the minority message than subjects with negative attributions. More importantly, this difference in persuasiveness was shown to be mediated by different cognitive processing strategies—subjects with positive attributions were more likely to systematically process the minority message. In addition to exploring the cognitive underpinnings of successful minority influence, the impact of social pressure and power struggles between social groups is considered in evaluating the applied value of such process‐oriented research. Finally, it is suggested that while consistent behaviour is one way in which the minority can draw attention to its position and increase the likelihood of influence, recent models and stereotyping and impression formation suggest another approach. Instead of the minority accepting the burden for instigating a validation process in members of the majority, such attention and validation can be instilled in those perceiving the minority through adopting goals that promote individuated and systematic information processing; through rejecting stereotypic and schematic processing strategies that promote biased impressi

ISSN:0144-6665    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1996.tb01082.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Extending the theorizing of Nemeth (1986, 1995), the present study investigated the hypothesis that minority dissent would stimulate a search for more information and that this search would be relatively unbiased. People should search for information on all sides of the issue. By contrast, it was predicted that majority dissent would stimulate less overall desire for further information and, importantly, any information search would be relatively biased. In direct contrast to predictions for ‘selective exposure’ it was hypothesized that individuals exposed to majority dissent would bias their search in favour of the majority position. The evidence generally confirmed these propositions, especially under conditions of ‘high relevance.’ The importance of information search and its implications for the quality of group decision making are e

ISSN:0144-6665    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1996.tb01083.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This experiment tested the general hypothesis that majority influence induces convergent processing, which stimulates attitude change on focal issues, whereas minority influence sometimes produces divergent processing, which might stimulate change on related attitudes. Results of a numerical support (majority vs. minority) by outcome involvement (high vs. low) experiment with attitude change and cognitive activity as dependent variables yielded partial support for these predictions. Majority arguments caused more attitude change on the focal issue than minority arguments, especially under high outcome involvement; no effects, however, were found for attitudes towards related issues. Consistent with expectations also was the result that, especially under high outcome involvement, cognitive activity predicted attitude change on the focal issue in the case of majority support, but generalization to related issues in the case of minority support for persuasive arguments. Results are interpreted as consistent with the general conclusion (a) that majority support is more effective than minority support in eliciting attitude change on focal issues, (b) that both majority and minority support elicit cognitive activity, which predicts attitude change on focal issues in the case of majority support, but generalization in the case of minority support and (c) that these processes are especially strong when there is motivation to engage in systematic processing of persuasive arguments.

ISSN:0144-6665    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1996.tb01084.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The theories of Moscovici (1980) and Nemeth (1986) concerning the cognitive processes underlying minority influence are examined in an argument generation paradigm. While Moscovici (1980) argues that minority influence increases the generation of arguments for and against the minority position, Nemeth (1986) proposes that minorities induce divergent thinking which leads to the generation of a wider range of arguments which are more original. In the first study, subjects read a minority text and then generated arguments concerning the minority issue within a specified time. The second study was similar to the first and included a condition where minority influence followed partial sensory deprivation (being placed in a dark, soundproof room for 45 minutes) which was predicted to decrease cognitive effort. Contrary to Moscovici, in neither study was there evidence that a minority led to more arguments being generated compared to a control condition (no influence). However, in one study, a minority led to more arguments being generated in the minority than in the majority direction. However, as predicted by Nemeth, in both studies a minority resulted in a wider range of arguments being generated than those proposed in the minority's message and these were rated by independent judges as being more original. Finally, as predicted, partial sensory deprivation led to a narrower range of arguments which were focused more upon issues raised in the minority text.

ISSN:0144-6665    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1996.tb01085.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This study is concerned with reactions aroused when a person encounters a pro‐ or counter‐attitudinal message presented by a source of majority, in‐group/minority or out‐group/minority status. It is proposed that these reactions may help explain the pattern of delayed, indirect, attitude change observed in instances of minority influence, and the direct and immediate changes often found in majority influence. Employing a standard attitude change design, the research demonstrates that participants exposed to a communication attributed to a minority in‐group are more prone than those exposed to either a majority or out‐group minority to approbate the source's message, elaborate and recall the message's contents, and approbate the communication source. The manner in which this pattern of responses explicates common findings in the minority influence literature i

ISSN:0144-6665    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1996.tb01086.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

One hundred and fifty‐five participants had to solve a set of 2–4–6 like reasoning problems (Wason, 1960), in which they were told which hypothesis a majority (or a minority) proposed, as well as which example was used for the test. In a 2 × 2 design, participants were also told that the problems allowed either one single correct answer or several possible answers. Results show that, when the source is a majority and the problem allows one single answer, most participants adopt the source's hypothesis and use confirmatory testing. On the contrary, it is when the source is a minority and the problem allows several answers that most participants give alternative hypotheses and use disconfir

ISSN:0144-6665    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1996.tb01087.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY