Minority influence and optimal problem solving

✍ Scribed by Robin Martin; Miles Hewstone

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 105 KB
• Volume: 29
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0046-2772
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0992(199908/09)29:5/6<825::aid-ejsp971>3.0.co;2-c

✦ Synopsis

An analogous thinking task was used to test Nemeth's Convergent±Divergent theory of majority and minority in¯uence. Participants read a (base) problem and one of three solutions (one of which is considered the best' solution). They then generated solutions to a second (target) problem which shared similar structural features to the ®rst problem. Due to the similarities between problems, the solution given to the ®rst problem can be used as an analogy in solving the second. In contrast to Nemeth's theory, when the solution to the base problem was endorsed by a numerical majority there was not an increase in analogy-transfer in solving the target problem. However, in support of Nemeth's theory, when the base solution was supported by a numerical minority then the participants were more likely to generate the best' solution to the target problem regardless of which base solution they were given.