As expected, the students who heard the strong argument had positive beliefs about the firm, and the students who heard the weak argument had negative ideas.

The researchers then told half the students that the majority (nearly 90 percent) of other students supported the company, and told the other half that only 15 percent did.

Results showed that the students who learned they had the minority opinion were actually more confident in their ideas about the company than those who were in the majority.

“People may be thinking that: ‘If I can find the flaws in a position that the majority of people believe, then my thoughts must really be good ones,’” Petty said.