Processes of Minority Influence

About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about some key processes of minority influence, focusing in particular on: (i) the tendency for majorities to reject minority ideas prematurely on the basis that they are unreasonable; (ii) three strategies of a minority to break through the premature dismissal of an idea by a majority as consistency (divided into diachronic and synchronic), commitment and flexibility; (iii) social change as an outcome of these strategies, legitimising the minority’s existence, even if this change doesn’t precisely align with the minority’s original proposals.

About the lecturer

Professor Gordon Sammut is a visiting fellow in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Professor Sammut’s research interests are in intercultural and intergroup relations, the theory of social representations and modalities of social influence. Some of Professor Sammut’s recent publications include 'The Psychology of social Influence: Modes and Modalities of Shifting Common Sense' (2021) and '‘Social Re-presentation for…’: An Action-Oriented Formula for Intergroup Relations Research' (2020).