Explanations of resistance to social influence

Question 1

What are the two explanations of resistance to social influence?

Answer 1

• Locus of control

- Social support

Question 2

Who proposed the locus of control?

Answer 2

Rotter (1966)

Question 3

What does the locus of control refer to?

Answer 3

A person’s perception of personal control over their own behaviour.

Question 4

What technique is usually used to measure the locus of control?

Answer 4

Self report questionnaires

Question 5

How is the locus of control scored?

Answer 5

Along a continuum of high internal to high external.

Question 6

How do individuals with a high internal local control perceive themselves?

Answer 6

They perceive themselves as being in control over their behaviour; they are more self-confident and less in need of social approval.

Question 7

What is someone with a high internal locus of control more likely to do?

Answer 7

Take personal responsibility for their behaviour.

Question 8

How do individuals with a high external locus of control perceive themselves?

Answer 8

They perceive their behaviour as being controlled by external influences, such as other individuals or luck.

Question 9

Which type of locus of control would be most likely to resist social influence?

Answer 9

High internal locus of control.

Question 10

What are the 3 evaluation points for the locus of control explanation?

Answer 10

+ Holland (1967)

• Twenge et al (2004)
• Role of LOC may have been exaggerated.

Question 11

Evidence to support the LOC explanation comes from Holland (1967)

Answer 11

E: He replicated Milgram’s obedience research and measured whether participants were internals or externals too.
E: He found that 37% of internals didn’t continue to the highest shock level (showed some resistance) whereas only 23% of externals didn’t continue. Internals showed greater resistance to authority.
L: +ve as it supports the idea that having a high internal LOC does increase a persons chances of resisting social influence.

Question 12

Twenge et al’s 2004 research contradicts LOC explanation.

Answer 12

E: They analysed findings from obedience studies over a 40 year period (1960-2002) and found people have become more resistant to obedience but also more external.
L: -ve if resistance were linked to an internal LOC, we would have expected people to have become more internal.

Question 13

Critics argue that the role of LOC in resisting social influence may have been exaggerated.

Answer 13

E: Rotter (1982) points out that LOC only comes into play in novel (new) situations and has very little influence in familiar situations where our previous experiences will always be more important
E: People who have conformed or obeyed in a specific situation in the past are likely to do so again, even if they have high internal LOC
L: LOC explanation may be limited to novel social situations.

Question 14

What does the social support explanation refer to?

Answer 14

The idea that if at least one person in a group resists the pressure to conform/obey (dissenter), it shows others that resistance is possible by demonstrating how to resist and the consequences of resisting.

Question 15

When is the pressure to conform at its most powerful?

Answer 15

Unanimous and when everyone obeys the figure of authority.

Question 16

What do people act like when they resist (be a dissenter)

Answer 16

A model demonstrating how to resist and the consequences of resisting.

Question 17

Evidence to support the ‘social support’ explanation comes from Asch (1951)

Answer 17

E: It was found in his line judgement task that when one of a group of confederates became a dissenter and gave a different answer to the other confederates (who gave a deliberately wrong answer), the conformity rate dropped sharply from 37% to, on average 25%.
E: This was true even when the dissenter gave a different incorrect answer to the majority - it still provided an escape from conforming.
L: +ve supports the view that social support helps people resist social influence.