locus of control Flashcards
resistance to social influence
the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority, influenced by both situational and dispositional factors
social support
the presence of people who resist pressures to obey/conform. they become models to show resistance is possible
resistance to conform with Asch
a dissenter that doesn’t follow the majority frees someone to follow their own conscience, however when the model starts conforming again, so does the participant so the effect is not long-lasting
resisting obedience with Milgram
the rate of obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the ppt was joined by a disobedient confederate, the ppt feels they can follow their own conscience
define the locus of control
refers to the sense we have over what directs events in our lives
internal locus of control
believe they are mostly responsible for what happens to them, and they control events in their lives.
external locus of control
mainly a matter of luck or outside forces, events are out of their control
how is locus of control linked to resistance to social influence?
people who have an internal LOC are more likely to resist conformity and obedience. they are more likely to base their decisions on their own beliefs and take responsibility for the consequences.
it could also be said that they tend to be more self-confident, achievement-orientated and show less need for social approval
ALLE AND LEVIN
resisting conformity
conformity decreased when there was one dissenter in an Asch-type study, even when the dissenter had ‘vision problems’, suggesting that its not just a motivation to follow someone else but it actually frees the witness to act by their own conscious
GAMSON
resistance to obedience
ppts had to produce evidence that would be used to help an oil company run a smear campaign and they found higher resistance than Milgram, probably because they were in groups. 29 put of 33 rebelled! Peer support is linked to greater resistance.
HOLLAND
supporting LOC
repeated Milgram’s baseline = 37% of internals didn’t continue to the highest, whereas only 23% of externals didn’t. INTERNAL showed GREATER RESISTANCE
TWENGE
contradicting LOC
analysed American studies from over a 40-year period and found that over time people have become both MORE RESISTANT TO OBEDIENCE but also MORE EXTERNAL. this is contradictory because they should have therefore become more internal
the role of LOC?
has very little influence on our behaviour in familiar situations because we always use our previous experiences to drive our actions
