MINORITY INFLUENCE - A METAANALYTIC REVIEW OF SOCIAL-INFLUENCE PROCESSES

A meta-analytic review of 97 minority influence experiments evaluated the processes by which sources advocating deviant, minority opinions e xert influence. Minority impact was most marked on measures of influen ce that were private from the source and indirectly related to the con tent of the appeal and less evident on direct private influence measur es and on public measures. This attenuated impact of minorities on dir ect private and public measures suggests that in response to normative pressures, recipients avoided aligning themselves with a deviant sour ce. Mediator analyses revealed that minorities perceived as especially consistent in the advocacy of their views were especially influential . The relation between normative and informational pressures in the mi nority influence paradigm was discussed.