Explanations of resistance to social influence Flashcards
What are the two ain things that resistance to social influence involves
Disobedience
Non-conformity
What is resistance to social influence
Resistance to social influence refers to the ways in which individuals attempt to withstand perceived attempts to threaten freedom of choice. Individuals may withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or obey authority.
what is disobedience
challenging the authority figure and going against instructions given.
what is non -conformity
not yielding to group pressure and going against the behaviour of the group.
what are the two ways non-conformity can occur
Independence
Anti-conformity
what is Independence
involving a lack of consistent movement either towards or away from social expectancy (i.e. doing your own thing).
what is Anti-conformity
involving a consistent movement away from social conformity, for instance, adopting the behaviour and norms of a minority group.
There are two explanations that have been put forward to explain resistance to social influence:
Social Support – this is a situational explanation
Locus of Control – this is a dispositional explanation
what does research suggest about social support
Research suggests that when there are others in social situations who defy attempts to make them conform and/or obey, then it becomes much easier for an individual to also resist such forms of social influence.
There are different forms of social support depending on the type of social influence:
Dissenters (conformity) who break the agreement (unanimity) of the majority and act as allies.
Disobedient role models (obedience) who challenge the legitimacy of the authority figure.
who did research into social support
Asch’s investigated the effect of social support in variations of his study - the naïve participant saw a dissenter (confederate) disagreeing with the majority wrong answer on critical trials, by providing either the correct answer or the alternative incorrect answer.
what were the findings of Asch’s study into social support
When the ally (dissenter) gave the correct answer, conformity dropped from 32% down to 5.5%.
When the dissenter (‘rebel’) went against both the other confederates and the real participant, providing the alternative incorrect answer, conformity dropped to 9%.
what does dissenters provide the participant with
Dissenters provide the participant with moral support, breaking the unanimity of the majority and raising the possibility that there are other, equally legitimate, ways of thinking or responding.
what does the presence of an ally do
The presence of an ally provide the naïve participant with an independent assessment of reality that makes them feel more confident in their decision (validating their perception/ judgement) and better able to stand up to the majority (there will be a reduced pressure to fit in).
The timing of social support (i.e. at what point it is received) also seems to affect levels of resistance as early social support has been found to be more influential
Give examples using Asch’s study
Asch found that if there is a dissenter who answers correctly from the start of the study, conformity drops from 32% (original variation) to 5.5%.
If the confederate only starts to dissent later in the study, conformity only drops to 8.5%.
With obedience, the presence of a disobedient model has been shown to be a powerful source of social support, making it easier for individuals to act independently.
Such people seem to demonstrate that disobedience is actually possible, as well as how to do it.
Research has shown that individuals are generally more confident in their ability to resist the temptation to obey if they can find an ally who is willing to join them in opposing the authority figure.
Disobedient peers therefore act as role models on which the individual can model their behaviour.
What is locus of control
It concerns the extent to which people perceive themselves as being in control of their own lives.
who identified locus of control
Rotter (1966)
How is locus of control measure
It is measured along a dimension of ‘high internal’ to ‘high external’, although most of us would be somewhere between the two extremes.
What is a high internal locus of control
A high internal locus of control is associated with the belief that we can control events in our life.
Individuals with an internal LoC believe that what happens to them is largely a consequence of their own ability and effort.
Things happen as a result of their choices and decisions.
What is a high external locus of control
A high external locus of control is associated with the belief that what happens to us is determined by external factors, such as the influence of luck and fate or other uncontrollable external forces.
Individuals with high external LoC believe things turn out a certain way regardless of their actions, that things ‘just happen to them’.
What is an example of external locus of control
For example, if you do well in an exam you might say it was because you used an excellent revision book; if you failed you might blame it on the book or bad luck because the questions were hard.
What is an example of internal locus of control
For example, if you do well in an exam it is because you worked hard; if you don’t do well it is because you didn’t work hard.
what did Rotter believe about internal LoC
Rotter believed that having an internal LoC makes individuals more resistant to social pressure.
What are people with high internal locus of control more likely to be
Show independence in thought and behaviour, basing their decisions on their own beliefs
Perceive themselves as having a free choice to conform or obey
Take personal responsibility for their actions and experiences (good or bad)
Have less need for social approval, relying less on the opinions of others
Be self-confident and achievement-oriented and of high intelligence
What are people with high external LoC likely to be
People with a high external LoC are less likely to display independent behaviour because they tend to approach events with a more passive and fatalistic attitude, taking less personal responsibility for their actions, which makes them more likely to accept the influence of others.
What did Shute (1975) do
Exposed undergraduates to peers who expressed either conservative or liberal attitudes to drug taking.
He found that those with internal LoC conformed less to others expressing pro-drug attitudes.
This supports the idea that having an internal LoC increases resistance to conformity.
What did Moghaddam (1988) find
Found that Japanese people conform more easily than Americans and have more of an external LoC.
This suggests that differences in resistance to social influence across cultures can be explained by differences in LoC.
What did Holland(1967) test the link between
Holland (1967) tested for a link between LoC and obedience, but found no relationship between the two.
:(The role of LoC in resisting social influence may have been somewhat exaggerated.
Rotter (1982) points out that LoC only comes into play in novel situations. It has very little influence over our behaviour in familiar situations where our previous experiences will always be more important.
This means that people who have conformed or obeyed in specific situations in the past are likely to do so again, even if they have a high internal LoC
what are the other factors affecting resistance to social influence
Reactance
Morality
Personality
