title: Distinguishing between silent and vocal minorities: not all deviants feel marginal.
abstract: People's opinions can deviate from that of the average group member in two ways. Descriptive deviants diverge from the average group attitude in a direction consistent with the desirable group attitude; prescriptive deviants diverge from the average group attitude in a direction inconsistent with the desirable group attitude. Three studies tested the hypothesis that descriptive deviants are more willing to express their opinions than either nondeviants or prescriptive deviants. Study 1 found that college students reported more comfort in expressing descriptive deviant opinions because descriptive deviance induced feelings of superior conformity (i.e., being "different but good"). Study 2 found that descriptive deviants reported more pride after expressing their opinions, were rated as more proud by an observer, and were more willing to publicize their opinions. Study 3 showed that political bumper stickers with descriptive deviant messages were displayed disproportionately more frequently than were those with prescriptive deviant messages.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. krios@stanford.edu
authors.forename: Kimberly Rios
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: Dale T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012925:Social Conformity; D012930:Social Dominance; D012933:Social Identification