explanations of resistance to social influence

Question 1

what are the two types of resistance to social influence

Answer 1

social support and locus of control

Question 2

explain how the presence of social support enables an individual to resist pressure from the majority

Answer 2

-in of of Asch’s variations, the use of an ally who also gave the right answer caused conformity levels to drop to 5%

Question 3

what is the most important aspect of social support ?

Answer 3

it breaks that unanimous position of the majority

Question 4

explain how the presence of social support enables an individual to resist obedience

Answer 4

-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.

Question 5

explain how social support and resisting obedience was shown in Milgram’s study

Answer 5

• in one of his variations, the participant was one of a team of three testing the learner.
• the other two were confederates who, one after another, refused to continue shocking the learner and withdrew.
• their defiance had an influence on the real participant, with only 10% continuing to the maximum shock level

Question 6

what does the term locus of control refer to ?

Answer 6

a person’s perception of personal control over their behaviour

Question 7

internal locus of control

Answer 7

• we can control events in our life
• what happens to us is largely a consequence of our own ability and effort.
• more independent
• rely less on the opinions of others
• better able to resist social influence

Question 8

external locus of control

Answer 8

• believes what happens to them is determined by external factors
• largely out of control
• less personal responsibility
• less independent
• more likely to accept the influence of others

Question 9

what did Spector find in 1982

Answer 9

a relationship exists between locus of control and leadership style, with internals beings more persuasive and goal-oriented than externals

Question 10

what did Hutchins and Estey find in 1978

Answer 10

-in a stimulate prisoner-of-war camp situation, internals were better able to resist the attempts of an interrogator

Question 11

explain the evaluation that locus of control is related to normative but not informational influence

Answer 11

• Spector 1983 measure LOC and tendency to normative and informational influence in 157 students
• significant correlation between LOC and tendency to NSI, with externals more likely to conform to this type of influence than internals.
• however, he found no correlation for tendency to ISL

Question 12

explain the evaluation that people are more external than they use to be

Answer 12

• Twenge did a meta analysis
• found that young Americans increasingly believed that their fate was determined more by luck and others rather than their own actions.
• LOC scores had become more external in student and child samples between 1960 and 2002.

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Question 13

describe the real life application of social support

Answer 13

• 1943 a group of German women protested in the Rosenstrasss in Berlin where the secret nazi police were holding Jewish men
• the police threatened to open fire if they didn’t leave
• despite the threats, the women’s courage eventually paid off and the Jews were set free
• Milgram found that the presence of disobedient peers gave the participant the confidence to resist the authority’s orders. These women went against the authority of the police together.

Question 14

explain the research support for LOC

Answer 14

• Avtgis did a meta analysis of studies of the relationship between LOC and different forms of social influence.
• individuals who scored higher on external locus of control tend to be more easily persuaded, more easily influence and more conforming than those who scored as internal