This Article Abstract Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Seyranian, V. Articles by Crano, W. D. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Dimensions of Majority and Minority Groups

Claremont Graduate University

Hazel Atuel

Claremont Graduate University

William D. Crano

Claremont Graduate University, william.crano{at}cgu.edu

Several definitions of majority and minority groups can be found in the social psychological literature. They involve numeric size, power/status, and counternormative position, but size is most commonly used in experimental research to manipulate minority/minority status. Does this practice mirror real-world conceptualizations? To address this question, 77 participants were asked to describe majority and minority groups using a structured openended measure. Content analysis of their responses revealed that majority and minority groups were conceptualized along eight dimensions, which included power, number, distinctiveness, social category, group context, dispositions, and being the source or target of behavior. Although these dimensions were relevant to both majorities and minorities, they often were applied differentially. Also, minorities were associated with more divergent thinking and viewed more negatively than were majorities. On the basis of these findings, a new typology of groups was proposed that could be used in future experimental research to advance our understanding of majorities and minorities.

Key Words: group dynamics • indirect influence • minority groups • persuasive communication • social groups • social influence

References

• Allport, G.W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.
• Alvaro, E.M., & Crano, W.D. (1996). Cognitive responses to minority or majority-based communications: Factors that underlie minority influence. British Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 105—121.[ISI]
• Alvaro, E.M., & Crano, W.D. (1997). Indirect minority influence: Evidence for leniency in source evaluation and counterargumentation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 949—964.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Asch, S. (1956). Studies of independence and conformity I: A minority of one against a unanimous majority. Psychological Monographs, 70, 1—70.
• Atuel, H., Seyranian, V., & Crano, W.D. (2007). Media representations of majority and minority groups. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 561—572.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Blanz, M., Mummendey, A., Mielke, R., & Klink, A. (1998). Responding to a negative social identity: A taxonomy of identity management strategies. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28, 697—729.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Blanz, M., Mummendey, A., & Otten, S. (1995). Positive—negative asymmetry in social discrimination: The impact of stimulus valence and size and status differentials on intergroup evaluations. British Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 409—420.[ISI]
• Cantril, H. (1941). The psychology of social movements. New York: Wiley.
• Crano, W.D. (1993). Context, categorization, and change: Consequences of cultural contrasts on compliance and conversion. In M-F. Pichevin, M-C. Hurtig, & M. Piolat (Eds.), Studies on the self and social cognition (pp. 248—257). Singapore: World Scientific.
• Crano, W.D. (1994). Context, comparison, and change: Methodological and theoretical contributions to a theory of minority (and majority) influence. In S. Moscovici, A. Mucchi-Faini, & A. Maass (Eds.), Minority influence (pp.17—46). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
• Crano, W.D. (2000). Social influence: Effects of leniency on majority and minority-induced focal and indirect attitude change. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 3, 89—121.
• Crano, W.D. (2001). Social influence, social identity, and ingroup leniency. In C. K. De Dreu & N. K. De Vries (Eds.), Group consensus and minority influence: Implications of innovation (pp. 122—143). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
• Crano, W.D. (in press). Majority and minority influence in attitude formation and attitude change: Context/categorization—leniency contract theory. In R. Martin & M. Hewstone (Eds.), Minority influence. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
• Crano, W.D., & Brewer, M. (2002). Principles and methods of social research (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Crano, W.D., & Chen, X. (1998). The leniency contract and persistence of majority and minority influence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1437—1450.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Crano, W.D., & Hannula-Bral, K.A. (1994). Context/categorization model of social influence: Minority and majority influence in the formation of a novel response norm. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 30, 247—276.[CrossRef][ISI]
• David, B., & Turner, J. (1999). Studies in self-categorization: The ingroup minority in intragroup and intergroup studies. British Journal of Social Psychology, 38, 115—134.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Festinger, L., Schachter, S., & Back, K. (1950). Social pressures in informal groups. New York: Harper & Brothers.
• Gardikiotis, A., Martin, R., & Hewstone, M. (2004). The representation of majority and minority in the British press: A content analytic approach. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 637—646.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Gordjin, E., De Vries, N., & De Dreu, C. (2002). Minority influence on focal and related attitudes: Change in size, attributions, and information processing. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1315—1326.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Guilford, J.P. (1956). The structure of the intellect. Psychological Bulletin, 33, 267—293.
• Howell, D.C. (1997). Statistical methods for psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
• Jung, D.I. (2001). Transformational and transactional leadership and their effects on creativity in groups. Creativity Research Journal, 13, 185—195.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Kameda, T., Ohtsubo, Y., & Takezawa, M. (1997). Centrality in sociocognitive networks and social influence: An illustration in a group decision-making context. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 296—309.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Kerr, N. (2002). When is a minority a minority? Active versus passive minority advocacy and social influence. European Journal of Social Psychology, 32, 471—483.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Kruglanski, A., & Mackie, D. (1990). Majority and minority influence: A judgmental process analysis. European Review of Social Psychology, 1, 229—261.
• Leonardelli, G.J., & Brewer, M.B. (2001). Minority and majority discrimination: When and why. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37, 468—485.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Levine, J.M., & Kaarbo, J. (2001). Minority influence in political decision-making groups. In C. K. De Dreu & N. K. De Vries (Eds.), Group consensus and minority influence: Implications of innovation (pp. 122—143). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
• Lewin, K. (1948). Resolving social conflicts. New York: Harper & Brothers.
• Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science. New York: Harper.
• Lücken, M., & Simon, B. (2005). Cognitive and affective experiences of minority and majority members: The role of group size, status, and power. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 396—413.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Maass, A., Clark, R., & Haberkorn, G. (1982). The effects of differential ascribed category membership and norms on minority influence. European Journal of Social Psychology, 12, 89—104.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Martin, R., & Hewstone, M. (2001). Conformity and independence in groups: Majority and minority. In M. Hogg & R. S. Tindale (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Group processes (pp. 209—234). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
• Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Moscovici, S. (1976). Social influence and social change. London: Academic Press.
• Moscovici, S. (1994). Three concepts: Minority, conflict, and behavioral style. In S. Moscovici, A. Mucchi-Faina, & A. Maass (Eds.), Minority influence (pp. 233—251). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
• Moscovici, S., Lage, E., & Naffrechoux, M. (1969). Influence of a consistent minority on the responses of a majority in a color perception task. Sociometry, 32, 365—380.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Moscovici, S., & Personnaz, B. (1980). Studies in social influence V: Minority influence and conversion behavior in a perceptual task. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 16, 270—282.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Mugny, G. (1982). The power of minorities. London: Academic Press.
• Mullen, B., Brown, R., & Smith, C. (1992). Ingroup bias as a function of salience, relevance, and status: An integration. European Journal of Social Psychology, 22, 103—122.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Mumford, M.D., Scott, G.M., Gaddis, B., & Strange, J.M. (2002). Leading creative people: Orchestrating expertise and relationship. Leadership Quarterly, 13, 705—750.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Nemeth, C. (1986). Differential contributions of majority and minority influence. Psychological Review, 93, 23—32.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Nemeth, C. (1994). The value of dissent. In S. Moscovici, A. Mucchi-Faini, & A. Maass (Eds.), Minority influence (pp. 3—15). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
• Nemeth, C., & Kwan, J. (1985). Originality of word associations as a function of majority vs. minority influence. Social Psychology Quarterly, 48, 277—282.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Pérez, J., & Mugny, G. (1987). Paradoxical effects of categorization in minority influence: When being an outgroup is an advantage. European Journal of Social Psychology, 17, 157—169.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Pérez, J.A., & Mugny, G. (1996). The conflict elaboration theory of social influence. In E. H. Witte & J. H. Davis (Eds.), Small group processes and interpersonal relations (pp. 191—210). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Reicher, S. (2004). The context of social identity: Domination, resistance, and change. Political Psychology, 25, 921—945.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Sachdev, I., & Bourhis, R.Y. (1991). Power and status differentials in minority and majority group relations. European Journal of Social Psychology, 21, 1—24.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Schachter, S. (1951). Deviation, rejection, and communication. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 46, 190—207.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Sherif, M., & Sherif, C.W. (1961). Psychological harmony and conflict in minority group ties. American Catholic Sociological Review, 22, 207—222.[CrossRef]
• Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories: Studies in social psychology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Tajfel, H., & Turner, J.C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33—47). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
• Tajfel, H., & Wilkes, A.L. (1963). Salience of attributes and commitment to extreme judgments in the perception of people. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 3, 40—49.
• Turner, J.C. (1991). Social influence. Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press.
• United States Census Bureau. (2000). State and county quick facts. Retrieved March 27, 2004, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html.
• Voci, A., & Hewstone, M. (2003). Intergroup contact and prejudice toward immigrants in Italy: The mediational role of anxiety and the moderational role of group salience. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 6, 37—54.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Wood, W., Lundgren, S., Ouellette, J.A., Busceme, S., & Blackstone, T. (1994). Minority influence: A meta-analytic review of social influence processes. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 323—245.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Wood, W., Pool, G., Leck, K., & Purvis, D. (1996). Self-definition, defensive processing, and influence: The normative impact of majority and minority groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1181—1193.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

CiteULike

Connotea

Del.icio.us

Digg

Reddit

Technorati

This Article Abstract Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Seyranian, V. Articles by Crano, W. D. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?