STUDIES IN SELF-CATEGORIZATION AND MINORITY CONVERSION - IS BEING A MEMBER OF THE OUT-GROUP AN ADVANTAGE

The finding that minorities may tend to produce conversion whereas maj orities may tend to produce compliance is an extremely important one f or the study of social influence. Most research into minority conversi on has been based on conversion theory (Moscovici, 1980) which, we wou ld claim, rests on the notion that the 'true' influence exerted by min orities is possible only because they are essentially different from s elf. This paper reports two studies in a programme of research testing an alternative explanation, based on self-categorization theory, whic h assumes that perceived similarity to a potential source of influence will be the key to its deep and lasting success. Both studies employ a full majority/minority X in-group/out-group design, socially signifi cant real-life in-group-our-group memberships and measure attitudes di rectly relevant to these social identities. Study 1 uses immediate and delayed and Study 2, public and private, responses as the measures of , respectively, compliance and conversion. The results support self-ca tegorization theory in that, when exposed to both majority and minorit y our-group sources, subjects exhibited an immediate/public polarizati on away from the sources, towards a more extreme in-group position, an d there was no diminution of the extremity of their position on delaye d/private measures. The classic pattern of majorities bringing about g reater compliance than conversion and minorities greater conversion th an compliance was evinced in the in-group conditions of both studies, although this tended to be comparative rather than absolute. The impli cations of the results for the conflict between self-categorization th eory and conversion theory are discussed and the future direction of o ur research indicated.