Explanations of Resistance to Social Influence Flashcards
What is resistance to social influence?
the ways in which individuals attempt to withstand perceived attempts to threaten freedom of choice
involves disobedience and non-conformity
What are 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
What is anti-conformity?
involving a consistent movement AWAY from social conformity, for instance adopting the behavior and norms of a minority group
What is social support?
when there are others in a social situation who defy attempts to make them conform and obey, then it becomes much easier for an individual to also resist such forms of social influence
Why does social support help an individual resist social influence?
dissenters provide the individual with moral support, even if they give a different wrong answer from the majority, ‘freeing’ the individual to give the correct answer
How does social support link with Milgrims research?
Milgrim found that when two confederates paired with the real participant, they left the study earlier on, declaring that they would go no further. Only 10% of P’s gave the maximum 450-volt shock
This suggests that the creating of a group norm of disobedience put the participants under pressure to conform to the behavior of the confederates
What is locus of control (LOC)?
a personality dimension that concerns the extent to which people perceive themselves as being in control of their own lives
What do people with a high internal LOC believe?
that they can affect the outcome of situations and is due to their own work
What do people with a high external LOC believe?
that things turn out a certain way regardless of their actions and is due to luck/uncontrollable external forces
is someone with a high internal LOc or a high external LOC more likely to resist social pressures?
high internal LOC
Explain Spector’s research into LOC and resisting conformity
Speector gave Rotter’s LOC scale to 157 university students and found that P’s with a high external LOC did conform more than those with a low external LOC, but only in situations that produced normative social pressures
both types of LOC did not conform in situations that produced informational social influence
This suggests that people with less of a need for acceptance into social groups will be more able to resist social influence
Explain Holland and Blass’ research into LOC and resisting obedience
Holland tested for a link between LOC and obedience, but found no relationship between the two.
However Blass reanalysed Holland’s data using more precise statistical analysis and found P’s with an internal LOC were more able to resist obedience, especially if they thought the researcher was trying to force or manipulate them to obey
What is systematic processing?
individuals are less likely to obey orders that have negative outcomes if they are given time to consider the consequences of what they have been ordered to do
What is a criticism of systematic processing?
the explanation, in many settings such as the military , is that orders should be complied to immediately without thought
