Moscovici 1980 - Towards a theory of conversion behavior

Google Scholar Link

Moscovici, S. (1980). Toward a theory of conversion behavior. In Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 13, pp. 209-239). Academic Press.

Summary

Compliance can be thought of as “public, but not private, acceptance.” Conversion, on the other hand, can be thought of as “private, but not public, acceptance.” I’d add in here that conversion, to me, seems to be mainly about private acceptance, and it can also occur publicly (as in proselytizing). Conversion implies a true change of judgment. Majorities seek to reinforce norms, minorities seek to change them. Majorities create compliance, while minorities create conversion. The more deviant the minority, the more extreme will be the conversion (though, I think, it might happen with less people). For a minority to successfully create conversion, they need to be consistent. Consistency can consist of “rigid” behavior, in which their solution is the only acceptable one, or “fair” behavior, in which reciprocal concessions are a possibility. Rigid minorities exert more influence, though it is indirect, not direct, influence. Rigid minorities produce more conversions as well. The influence of a rigid minority can be seen when considering “how militant minorities and extremists in political and cultural circles have affected our outlook, changed our manner of behaving, dressing, speaking, etc., without at the same time leading most of us to accept their positions or making us act as they would wish.” This effect is shown experimentally by looking at how a stimuli influenced participants two weeks after exposure. Effect, measured directly, was insignificant, but effect, measured indirectly, was large. This is sometimes called the sleeper effect, in which a stimulus has a delayed influence on a subject. The sleeper effect seems to be enhanced by increased minority deviance. Majority influence is maximized with strong collectivism and minimized with strong individualism. All of these effects are shown experimentally.

Application

“In a conformity situation compliance seems the rule and conversion the exception, whereas in an innovation situation the opposite holds.” I think that this holds true because innovation situations lead to experimentation, which allows a person to effectively “find out for themselves.” Additionally - if you’re trying to subvert, be consistent and extreme.