resistance to social influence Flashcards
what are the two factors which influence resistance to social change
1) locus of control
2) social support
what is meant by the term social support
the perception that an individual has assistance available from other people and are apart of a social network
what is meant by the term locus of control
people differ in their beliefs about whether the outcomes of their actions are dependant on what they do or on events outside of their personal control
outline the role of social support in resisting conformity
1) enables the individual to resist conformity pressure from the majority
2) a variation in Asch study the introduction of an ally who also gave the right answer caused conformity levels to drop from 33% to 5.5%
3) it breaks the unamity of the group which raises the possibility that there are other ways of thinking providing an independent assessment that makes the individual feel confident in their decisions
outline the role of social support in resisting obedience
1) individuals are more likely to disobey if another person also disobeys
2) disobedient peers act as role models on which individuals can model their own behaviour from
3) in a variation of milgrams study consisting of 3 learners, the defiance of these learners caused obedience to drop from 65% to 10% going to the full 450v
evaluate social support in the resistance of social influence
1) importance of the response order - research studied to see if the importance of the response position providing social support made a difference in resistance- one condition the confederate answered first and the other the confederate answered fourth. It was significantly more significant in inducing resistance ins the first condition, this suggest that an initial correct answer first helps to confirm the individuals own judgement which endures despite others later disagreeing
2) research support- research found individuals with a majority of friends who drank alcohol were more likely to engage in drinking ad binge drinking over 12 months, however they found individuals were able to resist pressure to drink when they had a friend who also resisted. it is a consistent non lab based study which supports the idea of social influence
3) real world examples- Rossenstrasse protest, a group of German women protested in Berlin where 2000 Jewish men, most of whom married to non Jewish parterners. Guapote the Gestapo threatening to open fire the women’s courage eventually lead to the release of the men. Milgram found that the presence of disobedient peers gave pps the confidence to resist authorities orders
what are the two types of locus of control
1) internal - individuals who believe that the outcomes of their actions are due to what they do
2) external- individuals who believe that the outcomes of their actions are outside of their personal control
outline characteristics of individuals with an internal locus of control
1) believe consequences are due to their own effort and ability
2) more likely to display independence in thought and behavior
3) rely less on the opinion of others
4) less likely to be affected by social influence
5) achievement orientated
outline characteristics of individuals with an externa locus of control
1) believe that consequences are due to luck or fate
2) tend to approach events with a passive ant fatalistic attitude
3) take less personal responsibility
4) less likely to display independent behaviour
5) more susceptible to social influence
evaluate locus of control
1) people are more external than they used to be= research suggests that young people are becoming external in LOC, a meta-analysis found young Americans increasingly believed that their fate was determined by luck and powerful others. Researchers found that LOC scores had become substantially more external in students and child samples between 1960-2002. This was explained due to t the alienation of young individuals and the tendency to explain misfortunes on outside forces
2) research support- a meta-analysis of studies of the relationships between LOIC and different forms of social influence showed a significant positive correlation on scores of LOC and the measure of persuasion. Individuals who scored high n external were more susceptible to social influence
3) related to normative no informational social influence- the study of 157 undergrad students found a significant correlation between LOC and predisposition to normative social influence, with externals more likely to conform to normative influence than internals. This relationship was not found with informational influence. concluded that externals would conform more than internals in situations of normative pressure but not more in situations of informational pressure
evaluate locus of control
1) people are more external than they used to be= research suggests that young people are becoming external in LOC, a meta-analysis found young Americans increasingly believed that their fate was determined by luck and powerful others. Researchers found that LOC scores had become substantially more external in students and child samples between 1960-2002. This was explained due to t the alienation of young individuals and the tendency to explain misfortunes on outside forces
2) research support- a meta-analysis of studies of the relationships between LOIC and different forms of social influence showed a significant positive correlation on scores of LOC and the measure of persuasion. Individuals who scored high n external were more susceptible to social influence
3) related to normative no informational social influence- the study of 157 undergrad students found a significant correlation between LOC and predisposition to normative social influence, with externals more likely to conform to normative influence than internals. This relationship was not found with informational influence. concluded that externals would conform more than internals in situations of normative pressure but not more in situations of informational pressure
