Normative self-definitional minority influence: when innovation is valued
Abstract
The goal of this study was to test a prediction of the normative self-definitional model of social influence: when a non-n of 1 innovation 's salient and se] f-relevant to person, a minority is more likely to attain influence compared to when a norm valuing the status quo or no norm is invoked, and that based on the salience and self-relevance of the innovative norm, the influence will occur through a relatively thoughtful cognitive process on the part of the recipient. Furthermore, when cued to think in an innovative versus a status quo fashion, these effects will be emphasized. Finally, based on group decision-making research, it was also expected that those valuing innovation would exhibit the most divergent and creative thought. An experiment using four different social issues was conducted in which participants were exposed to an innovative versus a status quo versus no norm, then presented with a minority source who held a counterattitudinal position, then given the opportunity to reinterpret the issue in an either innovative or status quo fashion that would 'justify the minority source's stance, and then were given an assessment of attitude change. Results were marginally supportive of the hypotheses with only one issue. As expected, participants valuing a norm of innovation reinterpreted the issue in an innovative, but not a status quo, fashion that allowed alignment with the minority source. Attitude change also followed this pattern, but was significant. A qualitative analysis revealed that most divergent and creative thought not significant This study does provide direction for additional investigation into the type of processing leading to social influence that arises from non-native, self-definitional pressures; however, due to the lack of robustness of the findings, further research will need to be conducted before any convincing conclusions can be drawn. Problems with the study are discussed and another study is proposed that addresses these issues.
Description
Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references: p. 34-36.
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Citation
Babcock, Denette Rae (1998). Normative self-definitional minority influence: when innovation is valued. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1998 -THESIS -B32.