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A-Level · Psychology

PSY.SI7 Minority Influence: Consistency, Commitment and Flexibility

AQA 7182 · Calculators not allowed · about 70 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer all questions. Write full sentences for extended responses and the final 16-mark essay. Time guidance: 70 minutes total.

Define 'minority influence' as it is used in social influence research, naming the general effect on a majority.

Define minority influence.

(Total for Question 1 is 2 marks)

Outline what is meant by synchronic consistency and diachronic consistency in the context of minority influence, giving one sentence on each type and why they matter.

Explain synchronic and diachronic consistency.

(Total for Question 2 is 4 marks)

Define 'commitment' as a factor in minority influence and explain the augmentation principle briefly in that context.

Define commitment and the augmentation principle.

(Total for Question 3 is 2 marks)

Define 'flexibility' in minority influence research and name the researcher most associated with arguing for its importance in contrast to rigid consistency.

Define flexibility and name associated researcher.

(Total for Question 4 is 2 marks)

Outline Moscovici's blue-green slide procedure used to investigate minority influence, describing the groups, the task and the critical trials.

Outline Moscovici's procedure in the blue-green slide study.

(Total for Question 5 is 4 marks)

State the main findings from Moscovici's blue-green slide study about how often naive participants conformed to the consistent minority and how consistency affected influence.

State Moscovici's findings.

(Total for Question 6 is 2 marks)

Explain the augmentation principle using a short applied example of a small campaign group staging a costly public action to draw attention to its position.

Explain the augmentation principle with an applied example.

(Total for Question 7 is 3 marks)

Application: In a workplace meeting a small team of junior staff consistently propose a new rota system. They speak in unison at meetings, have trialled the rota privately, but refuse to compromise when managers suggest small changes. Using the three factors of minority influence, identify which factors this team displays and which factor(s) are missing or harmful to their influence. Justify your answer with reference to the scenario.

Apply minority influence factors to a workplace scenario.

(Total for Question 8 is 6 marks)

Application: A small environmental group campaigning in a town has strong long-term messaging but avoids high-cost actions and rarely appears in public. Local residents do not take much notice. Using knowledge of minority influence, suggest one realistic change to the group's approach that could increase its influence and explain why it would help.

Apply minority influence to a campaigning scenario and recommend improvement.

(Total for Question 9 is 6 marks)

Evaluate one methodological limitation of Moscovici's original blue-green slide study that affects how far its findings generalise to real-world minority influence.

Evaluate a methodological limitation of Moscovici's study.

(Total for Question 10 is 4 marks)

Outline one piece of research, other than Moscovici, that supports the role of flexibility or compromise in effective minority influence. Include what the study found.

Outline supportive research for flexibility in minority influence.

(Total for Question 11 is 4 marks)

In a modern replication of a Moscovici-style study there were 36 critical trials presented to each naive participant. Across the experiment, naive participants gave the minority-consistent response on a total of 9 of those trials. Calculate the percentage of critical trials on which the minority-consistent response was given. Give your answer to 1 decimal place.

Calculate percentage of minority-consistent responses in a replication.

(Total for Question 12 is 3 marks)

Discuss one strength and one weakness of arguing that consistency alone explains minority influence, referring to empirical evidence or theory in your answer.

Evaluate the claim that consistency alone explains minority influence.

(Total for Question 13 is 4 marks)

Discuss research into minority influence. In your answer, you should describe relevant empirical studies and theoretical ideas, evaluate their strengths and limitations, and consider how the three factors of consistency, commitment and flexibility interact to explain when minorities succeed. Refer to research and theory throughout your answer.

(Total for Question 14 is 16 marks)

Mark scheme · PSY.SI7 Minority Influence: Consistency, Commitment and Flexibility

Question 1

B1 states minority influence involves a smaller group attempting to change the beliefs or behaviour of the majority oe
B1 states the effect can lead to conversion of majority opinion over time, not just public compliance oe
Answer: Minority influence is when a smaller group aims to change the beliefs or behaviour of the majority, potentially leading to conversion of opinion over time.

Question 2

M1 synchronic consistency: the minority shows agreement among its members about the view, e.g. all members give the same opinion oe
A1 explains that synchronic consistency makes the minority appear confident and united, increasing its credibility oe
M1 diachronic consistency: the minority maintains the same position over time, repeatedly voicing the same view oe
A1 explains that diachronic consistency suggests commitment and reliability, persuading others the view deserves attention oe
Answer: Synchronic consistency is when minority members agree with one another, making them appear united and credible. Diachronic consistency is when the minority keeps the same position over time, signalling commitment and reliability which can persuade others.

Question 3

B1 commitment: the minority shows dedication often through costly or risky acts that demonstrate belief in their position oe
B1 augmentation principle: costly or risky commitment increases the perceived validity of the minority's view, augmenting their influence oe
Answer: Commitment means the minority shows dedication, often by undertaking costly or risky acts. The augmentation principle states that such costly commitment increases others' perception that the minority truly believes its view, making the minority more influential.

Question 4

B1 flexibility: minority willingness to adapt, compromise and negotiate rather than being rigidly uncompromising oe
B1 credits Nemeth as the researcher arguing flexibility increases persuasiveness of a minority oe
Answer: Flexibility is the minority's willingness to adapt and negotiate rather than being rigid; Nemeth is identified with arguing that flexibility enhances minority persuasiveness.

Question 5

M1 female participants were tested in groups including two confederates who formed the minority oe
M1 the group judged the colour of a series of blue slides, reporting whether each slide was blue or green oe
A1 on critical trials the two confederates consistently called the blue slides 'green', creating a consistent minority position oe
A1 the number of times naive participants agreed with the minority answer was recorded as the measure of minority influence oe
Answer: Moscovici tested female participants in groups containing two confederates. The group judged whether a series of blue slides were blue or green. On critical trials the confederates consistently labelled blue slides as green and researchers recorded how often naive participants agreed with this minority answer.

Question 6

B1 naive participants agreed with the consistent minority on a minority of critical trials, producing a small but reliable level of influence oe
B1 consistent minorities produced more influence than inconsistent minorities, showing consistency matters oe
Answer: Naive participants agreed with the consistent minority on a minority of critical trials, giving a small but reliable influence effect. Consistent minorities produced more influence than inconsistent minorities, showing that consistency matters.

Question 7

M1 explains augmentation principle: costly or risky acts by the minority make observers attribute stronger conviction to the minority oe
A1 applies to example: e.g. a campaign group staging a cold-night vigil in poor weather is costly, suggesting strong commitment oe
A1 explains why this matters: observers see the cost and infer genuine belief, making them more likely to take the minority seriously oe
Answer: The augmentation principle says that when a minority carries out costly or risky acts, observers attribute stronger conviction to them. For example, a small campaign staging a cold-night vigil shows commitment through hardship, so bystanders infer the group genuinely believes its cause and are more likely to pay attention to its message.

Question 8

M1 identifies synchronic consistency: they speak in unison and present the same proposal oe
A1 justifies that synchronic consistency makes them appear united and credible to others oe
M1 identifies commitment: they have trialled the rota privately, showing investment/effort oe
A1 explains this shows augmentation, increasing perceived sincerity of their proposal oe
M1 identifies lack of flexibility: they refuse to compromise when managers suggest small changes oe
A1 explains that inflexibility is likely harmful because Nemeth argues minorities that negotiate and adapt are more persuasive, so rigid refusal may reduce their influence oe
Answer: They show synchronic consistency by speaking in unison, which makes them appear united. They show commitment by trialling the rota privately, signalling investment. They lack flexibility because they refuse to compromise; according to Nemeth this rigidity is likely to reduce persuasiveness and slow any snowballing of support.

Question 9

M1 identifies a plausible change, e.g. increase visible acts of commitment such as a single well-publicised, peaceful demonstration or a community project showing cost/effort oe
A1 explains this would create the augmentation effect, making observers see commitment and take the minority more seriously oe
M1 alternative improvement acceptable: introduce negotiated flexibility by showing willingness to adjust proposals in consultation with locals oe
A1 explains this would make the minority appear reasonable and increase chances of converting undecided people oe
M1 links change to snowballing: either increased visibility or flexibility would help attract initial converts who could spread the view oe
A1 explains why this matters in the local context: current private, low-cost approach fails to signal seriousness, so influence remains minimal oe
Answer: They could stage a single well-publicised peaceful action or community project to signal costly commitment, creating an augmentation effect and drawing attention. Alternatively, they could show flexibility by consulting and adjusting proposals, which would make them appear reasonable and more likely to win converts; either approach can help start a snowball effect in the community.

Question 10

M1 identifies a methodological limitation, e.g. artificial laboratory setting and trivial task oe
A1 explains why this matters: judging slide colours is low-stakes and may not reflect complex real-world influence such as political campaigns oe
M1 identifies a second linked limitation, e.g. sample limits: all female samples or student participants oe
A1 explains effect on generalisability: findings may not generalise to male populations, workplaces or broader communities oe
Answer: A key limitation is the artificial laboratory setting and trivial colour-judgement task, which is low-stakes and may not capture the complexity of real-world minority influence. Also, Moscovici used female student samples, limiting generalisability to other genders and populations.

Question 11

M1 names a relevant study or researcher e.g. Nemeth's work on simulated juries or related lab studies oe
A1 outlines the method briefly, e.g. tasks where a minority negotiated rather than insisted, such as juror group problem-solving studies oe
M1 states the finding: flexible minorities that showed willingness to compromise were more likely to shift the majority or to influence discussion than rigid minorities oe
A1 explains implication: flexibility aids persuasiveness by appearing reasonable and stimulating deeper processing of the minority view oe
Answer: Research by Nemeth using group decision tasks found that minorities who showed flexibility and willingness to compromise were more likely to influence group discussion and sometimes change majority decisions, implying that flexibility can be more persuasive than rigid consistency.

Question 12

M1 sets up correct calculation: (9 / 36) x 100 oe
M1 evaluates calculation to 25 and converts to percentage oe
A1 gives final answer 25.0% to 1 decimal place cao
Answer: 25.0%

Question 13

M1 states a strength such as empirical support: Moscovici found consistent minorities were more influential than inconsistent ones oe
A1 explains why this supports consistency as important, e.g. consistency increases perceived confidence and forces deeper processing by majorities oe
M1 states a weakness such as evidence for other factors: Nemeth's work shows flexibility is also important, and augmentation principle highlights commitment oe
A1 explains why this weakens the claim that consistency alone is sufficient to explain minority influence oe
Answer: A strength is Moscovici's finding that consistent minorities were more influential than inconsistent ones, supporting consistency as an important factor because it signals confidence and attracts attention. A weakness is that other research, notably Nemeth, shows flexibility matters and the augmentation principle highlights commitment, so consistency alone cannot fully explain when minorities persuade majorities.

Question 14

Level 4 (13-16): Detailed knowledge and accurate understanding of research into minority influence. Evaluation is thoughtful and well developed, addressing methodological issues, theoretical alternatives and real-world implications. The answer integrates discussion of consistency, commitment and flexibility and uses appropriate empirical examples, such as Moscovici and Nemeth, to support points.
Level 3 (9-12): Good knowledge and understanding of research into minority influence with some evaluation. Discussion addresses several relevant studies and ideas and links at least two factors, but analysis may be less thorough or slightly unbalanced.
Level 2 (5-8): Some relevant knowledge of minority influence research is present but limited. Evaluation is present but superficial, and links between theory and studies are partial. Few empirical examples used or applied.
Level 1 (1-4): Very limited knowledge of research into minority influence. Little or no evaluation. Answer may be a list of brief points with weak linkage to studies or theory.
Level 0 (0): No creditable content.
Indicative content:
- AO1: Moscovici's blue-green slide study procedure and findings: consistent minority produced a small but notable influence; inconsistent minority produced little influence.
- AO1: Definitions of synchronic and diachronic consistency, commitment and the augmentation principle, and Nemeth's argument for flexibility.
- AO2: Application of Moscovici to theory: consistency draws attention and causes deeper processing, supporting conversion rather than mere compliance.
- AO2: Application of commitment and augmentation: costly or effortful minority acts signal conviction and increase perceived validity, attracting converts.
- AO2: Application of flexibility: Nemeth's group decision work suggests minorities that negotiate persuade more effectively by stimulating discussion and not provoking rigid rejection.
- AO3: Methodological evaluation: Moscovici's lab tasks are artificial and use limited samples so external validity is limited; however lab control allows causal inference about consistency effects.
- AO3: Supporting and challenging evidence: replications and variations show sometimes small effects and cultural or contextual moderators; some later studies show stronger effects in realistic contexts while others find limited change.
- AO3: Theoretical integration: consistency, commitment and flexibility interact; consistency and commitment attract attention and credibility, while flexibility determines whether the majority will engage and adopt at least some points, leading to a snowball effect over time.
- AO3: Practical implications and limitations: minority influence research helps explain how social change can begin, but translating lab findings to complex real-world campaigns requires caution; ethical and contextual factors also matter.

Minority Influence: Consistency, Commitment and Flexibility - Worksheets, Questions and Revision