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Heuristic processing of distinctiveness information in minority and majority influence
Author(s) -
Bohner Gerd,
Frank Elisabeth,
Erb HansPeter
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-0992(199809/10)28:5<855::aid-ejsp894>3.0.co;2-p
Subject(s) - optimal distinctiveness theory , psychology , social psychology , argument (complex analysis) , cognition , heuristic , information processing , cognitive psychology , artificial intelligence , computer science , biochemistry , chemistry , neuroscience
The role of distinctiveness information in majority and minority influence was studied. Students read a message containing strong or weak arguments advocated by a minority or majority source. The communicator's minority (majority) status was said to be either distinctive to the target topic or nondistinctive across topics. Major dependent variables were attitude judgments and cognitive responses. Across conditions, messages were processed systematically, and a majority communicator tended to be more persuasive than a minority communicator. Most importantly, high distinctiveness led to greater influence than low distinctiveness, and this effect was independent of argument strength and minority versus majority status. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.