The effects of ingroup-outgroup membership on minority influence when group membership is determined by a trivial categorization

Two experiments are reported in which the influence of ingroup and outgroup minority influence was investigated where group membership was determined according to a trivial dimension. The results of the first experiment corresponded with those gained in an earlier study and showed that an ingroup minority has significantly more influence than an outgroup minority. In the second study the connotations associated with membership of the ingroup and outgroup (positive/negative) were experimentally manipulated. When ingroup/outgroup membership was associated with a positive/negative image respectively, the ingroup minority had the most influence. However, when ingroup/outgroup membership was associated with a negative/positive image, as predicted, an outgroup minority had more influence than an ingroup minority. These results are interpreted as supporting an intergroup analysis of minority influence processes.