ABSTRACT
The context/comparison model (CCM) was developed to provide a deeper understanding of the processes involved in majority and minority influence, and further to disambiguate the intellectual shift from social psychology's initial, intense focus on majority influence to minority influence. The leniency model, the component of the CCM devoted to minority influence, holds that the ingroup or outgroup nature of the minority source is a significant determinant of its persuasive success. In the CCM version of minority influence, it is crucial to disambiguate ingroup and outgroup from majority and minority. The leniency contract model begins with the assumption that to understand minority influence, it is necessary to conjoin the group and the social influence-persuasion perspectives. Drawing work from persuasion and group process theories, the model may appeal to researchers in both camps, whose research efforts almost inevitably will show that the CCM is incomplete, while simultaneously moving the field forward.
