This document discusses how minorities can influence majorities through history examples like suffragettes, Christianity, and civil rights movements. It explains that minorities who are active, organized, and consistent can create social conflicts and uncertainties that lead to societal changes over time, even though they start as a small group. The key differences between majorities and minorities are numbers, purposes, and approaches to thinking - with minorities challenging existing norms through divergent thinking and new ideas.

1. Can we ever be
influenced by the
minority?

2. How do we explain?
 Suffragette movement
 Christianity
 Nazism
 Civil
Rights movement
 Green movement

3.  History tells us that the minority can
influence the majority. Otherwise we
would remain unchanged as a society.
 Moscovici (1976) states that the way in
which individuals get their point across
is crucial.
 Minorities who are active, organised
and consistent can create social
conflict, doubt and uncertainty which
can lead to change.

4. MAJORITY MINORITY
Numbers
Purpose
Originality

5. The difference
is the number
MAJORITY MINORITY doing the
Numbers Real or Minority influencing
imagined attempting to not the
number being
group influence. influenced.
affecting
the
individual.
Purpose
Originality

6. MAJORITY MINORITY
Numbers Real or imagined Minority attempting to
group affecting influence.
the individual.
Purpose Try to maintain Generate social
the status quo, conflict with
resist change. mainstream ideas,
challenge the ‘norm’.
Originality

7. MAJORITY MINORITY
Numbers Real or imagined Minority attempting to
group affecting the influence.
individual.
Purpose Try to maintain the Generate social conflict
status quo, resist with mainstream ideas,
change. challenge the ‘norm’.
Originality Create ‘convergent’ Create ‘divergent’
thinking which is thinking – original ideas
about imitation of with alternate points of
established view.
behaviour.

8. A shift from one set of beliefs to another.
 Minority influence will be slow, a gradual
acceptance.
 Majority influence is passive, complying to a
set of beliefs without much thought.
 Moscovici (1980) called this a dual process
model. Majority is done for the need for
approval, minority for the need for
information about reality.

9.  Chose an individual or group of people who
exerted a minority influence.
 Outline what ideas or changes in behaviour
they managed to achieve.
 Have these changes had a lasting effect?