The persuasive power of ingroup minorities in promoting the acceptance of sustainable technologies

Introduzione. In a world increasingly affected by the climate crisis, the transition to sustainable energy has become a strategic priority. However, public resistance to emerging technologies remains a barrier, often due to limited knowledge or entrenched attitudes. This study explores whether persuasive messages from a minority perceived as part of the social ingroup can improve attitudes toward sustainable innovations. Obiettivi. Building on the “Leniency Contract,” which holds that ingroup minorities receive greater credibility and tolerance, this study investigates the effectiveness of such messages in shaping attitudes. It is hypothesized that the minority influence will foster more favourable attitudes and behavioural intentions toward the technology, both considered as dependent variables. Metodo. An online experiment was conducted with participants using a 2 (group: experimental vs. control) × 2 (technology: fusion vs. bioplastics) × 2 (social identity: high vs. low) × 2 (time: pre-test vs. post-test) mixed design. After making social identity salient, participants received either a persuasive ingroup message or a neutral one. Risultati. Results showed that participants with high social identification and even those with initially resistant attitudes exhibited a significant positive shift in attitude following exposure to the persuasive message, with a significant difference between the experimental and control groups. Knowledge increased significantly, whereas behavioural intentions remained stable. Limiti. The absence of significant change in behavioural intentions may be caused by a delayed effect (e.g., sleeper effect) that was not tested, by differences in the underlying mechanisms driving intentions versus attitudes, or by limited sensitivity of the measurement scale. Additionally, the sample, mostly politically progressive Californians, may have reduced response variability. Aspetti innovativi. Despite these limits, the study offers a novel contribution. It is one of the first to apply the theory of ingroup minority influence to sustainable technology communication and acceptance, effectively bridging social psychology and environmental messaging.