361 16 Persuasion from Majority and Minority Groups ROBIN MARTIN Aston University, Birmingham, UK MILES HEWSTONE University of Oxford, UK PEARL Y. MARTIN Aston University, Birmingham, UK ANTONIS GARDIKIOTIS Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any reason but because they are not already common—John Locke (1632–1704), Essay Concerning Human Understanding, dedicatory epistle. T here are numerous attempts to influence our opinions every day. These attempts can come from many directions—reading a newspaper, listen- ing to the television/radio, or hearing a debate are all situations where one person or group is trying to change the attitudes and opinions of another person or group. Often people try to support (or denigrate) a particular position by claiming that many people, the majority, or a relatively few people, the minority, support that position. It is this aspect of attitude change that is the subject of this chapter and it addresses the basic research question of whether people are more influ- enced when they believe a position is supported by either a numerical majority or minority RT20408_C016.indd 361 RT20408_C016.indd 361 1/8/2008 11:43:13 AM 1/8/2008 11:43:13 AM