Conversion theory of minority influence

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Conversion theory is Serge Moscovici's conceptual analysis of the cognitive and interpersonal processes that mediate the direct and indirect impact of a consistent minority on the majority (Moscovici, 1976). Initially, Moscovici's conversion theory of minority influence began as a minority opinion that was rejected by many researchers, but eventually members of opposition validated it, thus confirming the theory's exact predictions. Solomon Asch's studies highlighted the power that majorities have over groups and their subsequent conformity, but Moscovici was more interested in the power exerted by minorities.

Contrasting the "majority rules" model of social influence, conversion theory maintains that disagreement within the group results in conflict, and that group members are motivated to reduce that conflict—either by changing their own opinions or attempting to get others to change. Minorities have a different process of influence, and Moscovici theorized that they do so by a validation process (majorities undergo comparison processes). If someone within the minority breaks that unanimity of the majority, this captures the majority's attention, causing them to consider their arguments and reasoning for disagreement (Moscovici, 1976). If the new information/opinions garnered from the minority are validated, this may sway the majority and lead to more long lasting changes than changes occurring via comparison processes. This is because validation leads to private acceptance, whereas comparison processes result in direct influence as members publicly comply.[ citation needed ] Generally, validation is a long process, so the effects of a minority are somewhat slower to emerge and identify.

One of the first tests of this theory was a reversal of Asch conformity experiments by adding two confederates in a six person group, and arranging for them to systematically disagree with the majority decision. Instead of lines, the participants judged (aloud) the color and brightness of a series of 36 colored slides (all were blue with varying luminosity). The confederates were told to consistently state "green" rather than "blue." When tested alone, the error rate of participants was 0.25% (i.e., saying green when the answer was blue), but when tested in the presence of the green-saying confederates, the error rate increased to 8.4%, thus confirming the power of a minority (Forsyth, 2010).

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Communal reinforcement is a social phenomenon in which a concept or idea is repeatedly asserted in a community, regardless of whether sufficient empirical evidence has been presented to support it. Over time, the concept or idea is reinforced to become a strong belief in many people's minds, and may be regarded by the members of the community as fact. Often, the concept or idea may be further reinforced by publications in the mass media, books, or other means of communication. The phrase "millions of people can't all be wrong" is indicative of the common tendency to accept a communally reinforced idea without question, which often aids in the widespread acceptance of factoids. A very similar term to this term is community-reinforcement, which is a behavioral method to stop drug addiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Asch</span> Polish-American psychologist

Solomon Eliot Asch (September 14, 1907 – February 20, 1996) was a Polish-American Gestalt psychologist and pioneer in social psychology. He created seminal pieces of work in impression formation, prestige suggestion, conformity, and many other topics. His work follows a common theme of Gestalt psychology that the whole is not only greater than the sum of its parts, but the nature of the whole fundamentally alters the parts. Asch stated: "Most social acts have to be understood in their setting, and lose meaning if isolated. No error in thinking about social facts is more serious than the failure to see their place and function". Asch is most well known for his conformity experiments, in which he demonstrated the influence of group pressure on opinions. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Asch as the 41st most cited psychologist of the 20th century.

The spiral of silence theory is a political science and mass communication theory which states that an individual's perception of the distribution of public opinion influences that individual's willingness to express their own opinions. Also known as the theory of public opinion, the spiral of silence theory claims individuals will be more confident and outward with their opinion when they notice that their personal opinion is shared throughout a group. But if the individual notices that his opinion is unpopular with the group he will be more inclined to be reserved and remain silent. In other words, from the individual's perspective, "not isolating himself is more important than his own judgement", meaning his perception of how others in the group perceive him is more important to himself than the need for his opinion to be heard.

Social influence comprises the ways in which individuals adjust their behavior to meet the demands of a social environment. It takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience, leadership, persuasion, sales, and marketing. Typically social influence results from a specific action, command, or request, but people also alter their attitudes and behaviors in response to what they perceive others might do or think. In 1958, Harvard psychologist Herbert Kelman identified three broad varieties of social influence.

  1. Compliance is when people appear to agree with others but actually keep their dissenting opinions private.
  2. Identification is when people are influenced by someone who is liked and respected, such as a famous celebrity.
  3. Internalization is when people accept a belief or behavior and agree both publicly and privately.

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In psychology, the Asch conformity experiments or the Asch paradigm were a series of studies directed by Solomon Asch studying if and how individuals yielded to or defied a majority group and the effect of such influences on beliefs and opinions.

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Herd mentality describes how people can be influenced by the majority.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serge Moscovici</span> Romanian-born French social psychologist

Serge Moscovici was a Romanian-born French social psychologist, director of the Laboratoire Européen de Psychologie Sociale, which he co-founded in 1974 at the Maison des sciences de l'homme in Paris. He was a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and Officer of the Légion d'honneur, as well as a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Moscovici's son, Pierre Moscovici, was European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs.

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Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms, politics or being like-minded. Norms are implicit, specific rules, guidance shared by a group of individuals, that guide their interactions with others. People often choose to conform to society rather than to pursue personal desires – because it is often easier to follow the path others have made already, rather than forging a new one. Thus, conformity is sometimes a product of group communication. This tendency to conform occurs in small groups and/or in society as a whole and may result from subtle unconscious influences, or from direct and overt social pressure. Conformity can occur in the presence of others, or when an individual is alone. For example, people tend to follow social norms when eating or when watching television, even if alone.

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Anticonformity (counterconformity) refers to when an individual consciously and deliberately challenges the position or actions of the group. Anticonformity is not merely the absence of conformity. Anticonformity can be a response to certain context and social pressure or expectations. Anticonformity commonly takes place in a group environment where other individuals might differ in opinion. Individuals who display anticonformity behaviours are internally motivated to disrupt the balance of the group. Further, anticonformist individuals are motivated by rebelliousness and are not influenced by social forces or norms. Anticonformity has been labelled a dependent behaviour as its manifestation is dependent on the group's position in regard to an event or situation.

Interpersonal influence is a type of social influence which results from group members encouraging, or forcing, conformity while discouraging, and possibly punishing, nonconformity. It is one of three types of social influences that lead people to conform to the majority, or the group's norms. The other two types are influence are informational influence and normative influence.

Social cryptomnesia is a psychological and sociological idea. It is a cognitive bias experienced by entire cultures following social change.

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