Majority and Minority Influence (Current Issues in Social Psychology)

Majority and minority influence research examines how groups influence the attitudes, thoughts and behaviours of individuals, groups and society as a whole. This volume collects recent work by an international group of scholars, representing a variety of different theoretical approaches to majority and minority influence.

The book provides a thorough evaluation of significant current developments with a particular focus on how active minorities can influence people’s thinking and behaviour, fight against conformity and contribute to real social change. It also discusses the following themes:

• Social vs. cognitive processes of social influence: cooperation vs. antagonism
• Majority and minority influence: a singular or a dual socio-psychological process?
• Conversion vs appropriation of minority ideas
• Different meta-theoretical considerations underlying social influence research

New avenues for future research are presented and many are born from a new integration between influence and persuasion theoretical traditions.

By focusing on the societal dimension of social influence this book contributes to filling a theoretical and epistemological gap in the relative literature. It offers a balanced and thorough presentation of the distinct theoretical and epistemological approaches employed by active and important researchers in the field making it essential reading for researchers and upper-level students of social psychology.

Stamos Papastamou is Professor of Experimental Social Psychology at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Greece.

Antonis Gardikiotis is Associate Professor of Social Psychology and the Mass Media at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Gerasimos Prodromitis is Associate Professor of Experimental Social Psychology at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Greece.