0000000000677393
AUTHOR
Paolo Legrenzi
Majority and minority influence, task representation and inductive reasoning
One hundred and fifty-five participants had to solve a set of 2–4–6 like reasoning problems (Wason, 1960), in which they were told which hypothesis a majority (or a minority) proposed, as well as which example was used for the test. In a 2 × 2 design, participants were also told that the problems allowed either one single correct answer or several possible answers. Results show that, when the source is a majority and the problem allows one single answer, most participants adopt the source's hypothesis and use confirmatory testing. On the contrary, it is when the source is a minority and the problem allows several answers that most participants give alternative hypotheses and use disconfirma…
Majority and minority influence in inductive reasoning: A preliminary study
Ninety-three students were exposed to majority and minority influence in an inductive reasoning task. The former induced convergent thinking processes, though its effects were not reducible to mere compliance. The latter activated more divergent constructive processes, supporting the predictions of Conversion Theory.