Social-Influence Processes of Control and Change: Conformity, Obedience to Authority, and Innovation

The study of social influence is one of the most fundamental areas of social-psychological inquiry. Social influence refers to the ways in which the opinions and attitudes of one person affect the opinions and attitudes of another person. Although influence can occur between individuals, it is widely seen to operate in the context of social groups, where group members are continually influencing each other through the dynamic formation and change of group norms. Two forms of social influence can be identified within groups, which serve the function of either maintaining group norms (social control) or changing group norms (social change).

The dominant form of social control is conformity, that is, the processes through which an individual accepts (or complies with) the group's view. Since this line of research examines how a majority can cause an individual to conform to its view, it is often referred to as majority influence. Another process of social control is obedience, whereby individuals obey (often against their free will) an authority figure. However, in order for group norms to change, there must be processes of social change, which often create conflict and are resisted by group members. Processes of social change typically originate from a small subsection of members of the group, and, therefore, the process is often referred to as minority influence. Without active minorities, group opinions would never be challenged, fashions would not change, political campaigns would never succeed, and innovations would be thwarted. Social-influence research has a long tradition in social psychology and the amount of contemporary research, in terms of both published articles and active scholars, appears to be increasing, reflecting a continued interest in the area. The aim of this chapter is to review research relevant to these areas with particular attention to contemporary emphases and developments.

Before proceeding, we need first to consider what the terms ‘majority’ and ‘minority’ mean. There are at least three ways to define these terms. First, we might simply resort to the number of people in each group, with the majority group being numerically larger than the minority group. Interestingly, this need not mean that the ‘majority’ represents most people in the population (that is, [Page 313]over 50 percent), but that it is larger in size than the minority (which, by definition, must always be lower than 50 percent). Second, we can define these terms with reference to normative positions (that is, opinions and beliefs that reflect ‘accepted’ standards in society). In this dimension, the majority typically holds the normative position and the minority the antinormative or deviant position. Finally, we can refer to the power relationship between the source and recipient of influence; that is, the ability of the former to exert influence over the latter. Majorities are considered to be high in power, whereas minorities are low in power, as they are often discriminated against and marginalized in society. Using these dimensions, one might define a ‘majority’ as the numerically larger group that holds the normative position and has power over others. In contrast, minorities tend to be numerically small, hold antinormative positions, and lack power over others. We stress that this is a generalized definition and there are exceptions; for example, black people in South Africa during the period of apartheid were the numerically larger group in the population but lacked power.

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