This article explores observers' reactions to members of a group that contained a consistent minority and an otherwise unanimous majority. A questionnaire consisting of 5O scales selected to cover comprehensively the domain of attributes people use in judging others served to assess the perception of the minority and majority in the group. Five factors having to do with assertiveness, agreeableness, honesty, competence, and consistency were relevant to these judgments. Comparison of ratings of minorities and majorities on these factors revealed that minorities were perceived as more assertive, less agreeable, more honest, more competent, and more consistent than members of the majority. The breadth of these effects as well as their implication for the perception of minorities by members of a group and by outsiders is discussed.
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