Explanations of resistance to social influence Flashcards
What two things enables someone to resist social influence?
Social support
Locus of control (LOC)
What does social support help people resist?
Conformity and obedience
How does social support help people to resist conformity?
The pressure to conform can be reduced if there are other people present who are not conforming.
Give an example of social support helping to resist conformity in Asch’s research
in Asch’s research, the person not conforming doesn’t have to be giving the ‘right’ answer but simply the fact that someone is not following the majority appears to enable a person to be free to follow their own conscience. This other person acts as a ‘model’ and gives the social support needed to resist. However, Asch’s research also showed that this non-conforming person starts conforming again, so does the naive participant. Thus, the effect of dissent is not long lasting,
How does social support help to resist obedience?
The pressure to obey can be reduced if there is another person who is seen to disobey.
Give an example of social support helping to resist obedience
one of Milgram’s variations, the rate of obedience dropped
from 65% to 10% when the genuine participant was joined by a disobedient confederate. The participant
may not follow the disobedient person’s behaviour but the point is the other person’s disobedience acts
as a ‘model for the participant to copy that frees them to act from his own conscience. The disobedient
model challenges the legitimacy of the authority figure, making it easier for others to disobey.
Who proposed the idea of LOC?
Rotter
What is LOC?
The extent to which people believe they have control over their lives.
What are the 2 types of LOC?
Internal Locus Control
External Locus Control
Describe people with an internal LOC
Believe that what happens in their life is largely the result of their own behaviour, and are more likely to resist pressure to conform and obey.
What are people with an internal LOC more likely to do?
More likely to be able to resist pressures to conform and obey. If a person takes personal responsibility for their actions and experiences (good or bad) then they are more likely to base their decisions on their own beliefs and thus resist pressures from others.
Describe the qualities of a person with high internal LOC
Tend to be more self-confident, more achievement oriented, have higher intelligence and have less need for social approval. This means that these personality traits may contribute to them being able to exercise greater resistance to social influence.
