Nonconformity defines the self: the role of minority opinion status in self-concept clarity

Drawing on distinctiveness and social identity theories,the present studies tested whether minority opinion holders would have a more clearly defined sense of self than majority opinion holders. in study 1,participants who were induced to believe that they held a minority opinion on a controversial issue had higher subsequent self-concept clarity scores than did those who were induced to believe that they held a majority opinion,controlling for self-esteem. furthermore,the relationship between minority opinion status and self-concept clarity was strongest among participants whose opinions were highly expressive of their values (studies 2 and 3),as well as among participants who identified strongly with the group in which they were a minority (study 3). theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. © 2010 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.