Large Minorities and Small Majorities: Interactive Effects of Inferred and Explicit Consensus on Attitudes

Abstract Two studies demonstrate that minority and majority source information implies consensus, that is a self-generated representation of the numerical strength of the influence group (e.g., 20% for a "minority"). Such consensus inferred from minority/majority source information is contrasted with consensus explicitly provided (e.g., "20%"). Inferred and explicit consensus influence attitudes interactively. When explicit consensus markedly deviated from self-generated inferred consensus (e.g., a "majority of 52%" may appear small), the direction of this discrepancy determined judgments: With relatively high (low) explicit consensus, social influence increased (decreased). In addition, Study 2 showed that the mismatch between inferred and explicit consensus facilitated recall of consensus. Results are discussed within a consensus approach to studying minority and majority influence situations.