RESISTANCE TO SOCIAL INFLUENCE Flashcards
What is meant by people withstanding to social influence
When Individual has ability to withstand social pressure, obeying authority or conform to majority influence⇒ has freedom of choice
What is the proof of the minority in milgram and asch’s
Milgrams: 35% did not do full volts
Asch: 25% did not conform at all
What is the argument about conformity and obedience in society and what study provides evidence
Conformity and obedience allow big groups and society to run smoothly
However can be destructive: hoflings study→ example to train staff to conform to guidelines rather than authority figure
What 2 things can resistance to social Influence be influenced by
Situational (external) and dispositional (internal) factors
What is the situational theory for minority influence
Social support
Presence of ppl who resist pressure to conform can help others do the same⇒ act as role model→ resistance is possible⇒ more confident in rejecting the majority position
How is social support shown in conformity studies (asch) (2)
Asch: added unanimity social support with another individual resisting→ 5.5% conformity rate
Also dependant on time Of social support may influence conformity→ if unanimity was given later 8.5%
What was found when conducting asch’s study in a different way to show evidence of minority influence(4)
Psychologist conducted Asch’s line study with visual judgement
added Confederate objector with naive ppt objector wore thick glasses saying difficult vision (not authority) conformity was still reduced⇒ is about breaking majority and enabling people to be more free from group pressure
Explain social support obedience
Easier to stand up to authority with support→ no longer have to face consequences of rebelling alone⇒ give a model for disobedience shows us option to break agentic state
What did Milgram find that supported disobedience with social support
In a variation of Milgram’ study two other participants (confederates) were also teachers but refused to obey. Confederate 1 stopped at 150 volts and confederate 2 stopped at 210 volts. The presence of others who are seen to disobey the authority figure reduced the level of obedience to 10%.
What is the dispositional theory
Locus of control (LOC)
this is personality characteristic⇒ how much personal control person believed to have over own life→ dispositional element to resist social influence
What did Rotter propose about 2 types of LOC and what one had more free will and why
Internal LOC: independent personality, own decisions, believed they can affect outcome of situation
External LOC: fate, uncontrollable external factors, astrology believe people with internal LOC have higher resistance as they have free choice⇒ less likely to enter agentic state
What were two studies done portraying LOC in obedience
- Spector: Gave 157 uni students LOC ScalePeople with higher external LOC conformed more than with lowerwith lower have less of need to be accepted⇒ NSI→ more able to resist
- Holland: repeated Milgram study and measured by the participants were internal or external LOC
What are 2 other key reasons that cause individual to resist conformity
Reactants
Status
What is reactance in terms of its effect on conformity
Rebellious anger when individual feels restriction on the freedom of choice e.g. teens reacting to overbearing parents by rebelling and not conforming to adult rules
What is supporting evidence for reactance on Australian teens
It was found Australian teens more likely to smoke in high reactants condition when told no drugs than in low reactants condition when told okay to experiment
therefore when freedom is limited people will react to trying to rebel and not conform
