Social influence is one of the fundamental topics in the field of social psychology. Researchers and theorists have always been interested in how people change their beliefs and attitudes by knowing that others (a majority or a minority social group) share a different opinion. Social influence is an omnipresent phenomenon of social life. People often conform to the majority, but sometimes they are also influenced by the minority which can lead to social change. While majorities exert social pressure, minorities are able to affect our views gradually and often indirectly. There has been a long and fertile tradition in social psychological research examining the different processes underlying majority and minority influence.
The goal of this Research Topic is to discuss the development of social influence research and its central position in the field of social psychology. The discussion will focus on both theoretical and methodological issues regarding (a) persuasion and attitude change, especially the effects of message strength as well as source status and metacognitive processes on social and cognitive direct and indirect influence, (b) the interplay between social influence processes and social representations as constructed by participants – recipients, (c) majority and minority influence in real-life contexts, and (d) epistemological and metatheoretical issues underlying social influence research.
The Research Topic will provide a comprehensive evaluation of significant developments within the majority and minority influence research. It will cover the distinct theoretical and epistemological approaches employed in the field. Examples of possible themes for manuscripts include but are not limited to the following topics:
- Socio-cognitive processes of social influence
- Meta-theoretical considerations
- Singular and dual processes of majority and minority influence
- Direct and indirect influence
- Resistance to social influence
- Majority vs minority: debates in the contemporary real world
- “Reactionary” & “progressive” minorities: active agents in modern societies
- Societal meanings and social influence processes
Social influence is one of the fundamental topics in the field of social psychology. Researchers and theorists have always been interested in how people change their beliefs and attitudes by knowing that others (a majority or a minority social group) share a different opinion. Social influence is an omnipresent phenomenon of social life. People often conform to the majority, but sometimes they are also influenced by the minority which can lead to social change. While majorities exert social pressure, minorities are able to affect our views gradually and often indirectly. There has been a long and fertile tradition in social psychological research examining the different processes underlying majority and minority influence.
The goal of this Research Topic is to discuss the development of social influence research and its central position in the field of social psychology. The discussion will focus on both theoretical and methodological issues regarding (a) persuasion and attitude change, especially the effects of message strength as well as source status and metacognitive processes on social and cognitive direct and indirect influence, (b) the interplay between social influence processes and social representations as constructed by participants – recipients, (c) majority and minority influence in real-life contexts, and (d) epistemological and metatheoretical issues underlying social influence research.
The Research Topic will provide a comprehensive evaluation of significant developments within the majority and minority influence research. It will cover the distinct theoretical and epistemological approaches employed in the field. Examples of possible themes for manuscripts include but are not limited to the following topics:
- Socio-cognitive processes of social influence
- Meta-theoretical considerations
- Singular and dual processes of majority and minority influence
- Direct and indirect influence
- Resistance to social influence
- Majority vs minority: debates in the contemporary real world
- “Reactionary” & “progressive” minorities: active agents in modern societies
- Societal meanings and social influence processes
