How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

The Power of Minorities

Explanations > Groups > The Power of Minorities

Minorities in groups can have surprising power. All it takes is a few people and the whole group can be swayed or directed. Even one person can make a remarkable difference.

Sowing doubt

If there is full consensus in the group, then everyone can be confirmed in their view confident that they are right. But if only one person voices a doubt, then uncertainty and doubt can creep into the minds of others (Asch, 1956).

One way this is done is to ask challenging questions or point out difficult problems with majority decisions that others had considered effectively 'perfect'.

Emperor's clothes

In the story of the 'Emperor's New Clothes', an emperor is sold a fraud that non-existent clothes are so fine only good people can see them. He parades around the town and everyone goes along with the sham until a little boy voices what everyone really knows.

In this way, when one person talks about a problem that everyone already knows, the issue is now publicly in the open and cannot be denied. This is also known as bursting the bubble or naming the 'dead elephant' that everyone can smell.

Moscovici (1980), described persuasion of the majority by the minority as conversion theory, which is an opposite of compliance where the majority influence the minority. The Emperor's New Clothes is an example of compliance until the boy points out that the emperor really is naked. In a more conventional conversion setting, the minority provides new information and so nudges majority members out of collective blindness and into realizing an obvious but hitherto ignored or unseen truth.

Strongest view

The power of minorities is amplified if they speak with passion and with strong arguments. This effect is even more effective if the minority speaks with a single voice, all agreeing and all equally vociferous. Moscovici, Lage, and Naffrechoux, (1969) identified consistency, autonomy, and rigidity as key factors.

This is particularly effective if the majority are split or where they have doubts or are otherwise unable to reach a decision.

Disruption

Small groups can have a significant effect in disrupting the normal order of the main group. This can be seen in school classrooms, where troublesome individuals or a few students can effectively destroy the lesson. Political activists sometimes use the same deliberate disruptive principle.

One reason that people do this is to stop the majority taking actions with which they disagree. Another reason is to gain attention that boosts the minority's sense of identity or helps further their cause in some way.

Balance of power

When there are several large groups, the minority can side with one or more of the larger groups to give an overall majority. They can thenceforth threaten to withdraw their support unless significant demands are met.

This is common in politics, where coalitions of parties are needed to form governments.

Subverting silent majority

Many 'majority' groups are made up of a few dominant leaders and a silent majority which is going along with things but whose allegiance may be not be as strong as the leaders may believe. In such cases, a minority may empathize with this silent majority and carefully gaining their support. In this ways revolutions are started.

To do this, the minority needs to create and maintain an antagonism with the powerful majority whilst boosting the identity of the powerless majority and framing itself as the group that can guide them to overthrow the powerful leaders (Chryssochoou and Volpato, 2004).

Creative diversity

Homogenous groups can get onto a single track of thinking and not consider alternatives (Nemeth, 1986). Minorities, almost by definition, think differently.

In a situation where the group is seeking new ideas, the minorities will offer two advantage. First, they can add ideas that others do not see. They also may act to break up single-track thinking and get the others to think in different ways (Nemeth and Rogers, 1996).

A danger in such situations is that the group falls into polarized opposition between the majority and the minority and combative debate rather than collaborative creativity. A way the minority can overcome this is to show they are focused on the same higher goals as the majority.