Minority Influence

Define: One person’s lone opinion does not hold much power in a group, but when another person who agrees stands with the lone dissenter, a minority group is formed. Now their influence is more significant, and they often have more passion and expertise about the issue because they stand against the majority.

Minority Influence. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/minority_influence.htm

Apply: The group that you will gather in a community development project is probably the minority group, and they are united in one opinion about the solution to a problem. The majority group- maybe the community at large- does not care about the issue or doesn’t see it as an issue. You as a lone community developer do not have much influence, but when a few people from the majority join your cause because they too were the outspoken advocates of the change you seek, your combined influence becomes greater, and the majority will be forced to acknowledge you (and hopefully be influenced by your passion to make a change.)

Adapt: In a classroom setting, it is hard to voice your opinion if it differs from the majority’s.  When the teacher asks a question in which students are supposed to give an opinion, particularly if it seemingly has only two different positions, students may “jump on the bandwagon” with the first answer given. But after one person has spoken a dissenting viewpoint, often times others who were thinking it but were to afraid to say it will join in with that brave first person.  Together, they can influence the general viewpoint of the classroom because they have shown legitimate reasons why they believe in their answer.