Let us start thinking about minority influence by considering a (not necessarily) hypothetical situation. Have you ever been in the position that you alone in a group of friends is expressing an idea that nobody else shares? What do you do when you face your friends’ opposition, resistance or even ridicule? Do you try to persuade your friends? Do you think that you alone can persuade your friends to think differently and can eventually alter their attitudes and thoughts about the issue?
Two historical figures who exemplify the same questions but at a more general societal level are Darwin (Box 1) and Galileo. They were both individuals who, with their ideas and theories, questioned society’s established perceptions of how the world functions. Having faced society’s strong opposition to their theories, they fought for their ideas with commitment and resolution and, gradually, and in the process of time, their ideas have largely been accepted.
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