resistance to social influence. Flashcards
Name 2 causes for resistance to social influence.
Social Support & Locus of Control.
Outline the role of social support in conformity and obedience
Plays a large role in both. Asch - conformity dropped to 25% when a dissenter was introduced.
Milgram - dropped to 10% when a dissenter was introduced.
Outline what is meant by the locus of control and how it relates to resisting social influence.
Is a scale that measures what people believe to control behaviour. Internal and External. Internals - they are in control of their behaviour and therefore responsible for it.
Externals - behaviour is controlled by forces beyond our control (e.g. luck) and are not responsible. Internals are more likely to resist. This is because they see themselves as responsible for their actions.
Outline supporting evidence for the role of social support for both conformity and obedience.
Obedience: Evidence for the role of dissenters in resisting obedience (Gamson et al. 1982). PPTs were in groups - found higher levels of resistance than Milgram - 88% rebelled. Shows there is a link between peer support and resistance. Conformity:
Allen and Levine. Conformity decreased when a dissenter was present in an Asch-type study. Even when the dissenter wore thick glasses and claimed to have bad vision. Shows that it is not the presence of another answer that causes resistance, but the dissenter allows us to be free of pressure.
Outline the support for the LoC provided by Holland (1967).
Repeated Milgram’s study - measured if PPTs were internal or externals. 37% of internals did not continue to 450v & 23% of externals did not. Shows that internals are more likely to resist - increases the validity/credibility of the theory.
Rotter (1982) pointed out the role of the LoC may have been slightly exaggerated. Outline his claims and why they present a problem.
Suggested the LoC only comes into play in novel situations. In familiar situations past experiences may be more important. This means that people who have conformed or obey in specific situations are likely to do so again. It suggests that locus of control can explain only a limited range of situations - maybe not as important as first thought.
