resistance to social influence Flashcards
Resistance to social influence
refers to the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority and obey authority.
Social support
The presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same. These people act like models to show resistance is possible
Locus of control (LOC)
Refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives. Two LOCs. They are external and internal
Social support and its effect on conformity
Social support can help people resist conformity. The pressure to conform is greatly reduced if there are others not conforming. In Asch’s research there is a dissenter. Even though they are not giving the right answer they still allow the naïve ppt to be free to follow their own conscience. They act as a model. But if they start to conform the dissenter effect is no longer present so the ppt starts to conform again
Social support and its effect on obedience
Social support can help people resist obedience. If people see another person who is disobeying they too are likely to disobey. For example in Milgram’s variations, the rate of obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when a disobedient confederate joins the genuine ppt. The disobedience to authority figure acts as a model for the participant to copy that allows them to act according to free will.
who proposed the LOC and what are the two types and explain them
Rotter
Internal LOC=things that happen to them are largely controlled by themselves
External LOC=tendency to believe that things happen without their own control. So fate and destiny.
Give an example of Internal LOC
A person does well in an exam because they believe that they worked hard for it and if you failed then you didn’t work hard enough.
Give an example of external LOC
If an external LOC person passes a test they will say they used an excellent textbook to help them. If they fail then they might blame the textbook or they had bad luck because the questions were hard.
How do you measure LOC
On a continuum From high internal LOC at one end and high eternal on the other end with low internal and external lying in between.
How does LOC effect resistance to social influence
High internal LOC=more likely to resist pressures to conform or obey because they take responsibility for their actions and make decisions for themselves and thus resist pressure. While a high external person is more likely to conform and obey.
Characteristics of a person who has high LOC
- High level of personal control over their lives and behaviour.
- Take personal responsibility for their own actions
Characteristics of a person who has high external LOC
The belief that life is determined by external/environmental factors, such
as luck.
