Psychology for a Better World by Niki Harré

Author:Niki Harré
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Psychology Contemporary issues
Publisher: Auckland University Press
Published: 2018-12-02T16:00:00+00:00

When you represent a minority view, be consistent, persistent, and use non-contentious information

By definition, anyone who is attempting to challenge current social practices is in the minority. Not everyone will be averse to what you are suggesting, but most people, most of the time, are not doing what you wish they would. You are an ‘activist’ or an ‘eco-warrior’ or something that most people are not. They are a little suspicious of your dreams, and even more suspicious of any plans you have that involve them. So, it is worthwhile considering the insights from research on minority group influence, a field instigated by the French social psychologist Serge Moscovici in the late 1960s.195 To get a feel for the issues faced by minorities and how to overcome them, let’s imagine the hypothetical case of Mary, who I’ve positioned as a staff member in the politics department of a prestigious university.

I constructed the example of Minority Mary to illustrate several features of minority influence. The first is that minority positions are often initially resisted. Take the battering poor Mary got over turning out lights. There are few satisfactory arguments for leaving unnecessary lights on, but nevertheless people attempted to argue. They resisted. But what, exactly, were they resisting? In all probability, they weren’t resisting the idea itself, they were resisting Mary’s identity as a sustainability advocate. They didn’t believe in ‘lifestyle change’ or want to be seen as people who fussed over petty issues like lights. Perhaps they felt told off, as if Mary was saying they were bad people for not paying attention to lights in the past.

The case of Minority Mary

Although most people in Mary’s department are in favour of stricter environmental regulations and a more equitable distribution of resources, actually advocating for principles of sustainability within how the department operates is hard work. The department as a whole favours ‘big politics’ – they want the right policies in place, and see little value in trying to persuade individuals or organisations to change their practices. In fact, they look down a little on those who attempt to reduce their environmental footprint. They see such gestures as simply a middle-class feel-good fad that distracts people from the real centre of power – governments, multinationals and the media.

Nevertheless, Mary wants her workplace to be more environmentally conscious in its practices. She believes that change can happen from the bottom up and she cringes when energy and other resources are used wastefully. Therefore, at one staff meeting Mary suggested that people turned out unnecessary lights. This provoked a discussion of why all the lights that are left on, are, in fact, necessary. Some people can’t see room numbers in poor light; one woman had experienced being left on the toilet in the dark when someone turned off the lights in the bathroom. Mary walked away confused and disheartened, not quite understanding how such a simple idea had been made so complex.

Strangely, however, she observed that over the next few weeks there were fewer lights left on than previously.

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