Behavioral style of preferences of minority and majority members who anticipate group interaction

In the present research we investigated whether prospective minority and majority members ascribe high effectiveness to particular behavioral styles in order to exert social influence in a forthcoming group interaction. It was hypothesized that consistency, assertiveness, competence, and honesty would be rated as effective for minorities, whereas the role of agreeableness would be stressed for majorities. A behavioral-style inventory based on that developed by Bassili and Provencal (1988) showed sufficient reliability. The results confirmed the hypotheses, and the implications of the actor-perspective on social influence are discussed.