RESISTANCE TO SOCIAL INFLUENCE

Question 1

SOCIAL SUPPORT: CONFORMITY

Answer 1

• social support can help people resist conformity
• pressure to conform can be reduced if there are others who are not conforming (DISSENTERS)
• as seen in Asch’s study, even though the wrong answer was still given, simply the fact that that someone else is not following the majority appears to enable a person to be free to follow their own conscience
• Asch’s research also showed that if this ‘non-conforming’ person starts conforming again, so does the naive ppt.
• EFFECT OF DISSENT IS NOT LONG LASTING

Question 2

SOCIAL SUPPORT: OBEDIENCE

Answer 2

• pressure to obey can be reduced if there is a DISSENTER
• Milgram’s variation –> rate of obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the genuine ppt was joined by a DISOBEDIENT CONFEDERATE
• ppt may not follow the disobedient person’s behaviour but the point is that the other person’s disobedience acts as a model for the ppt to copy –> free to act from their own conscience.

Question 3

ROTTER(1966): LOCUS OF CONTROL

Answer 3

INTERNAL LOC: believe that the things that happen to them are largely controlled by themselves.
e.g. if you do well in an exam, it is because you worked hard.
EXTERNAL LOC: tendency to believe that things happen without their own control
e.g. if you do well in an exam, it was because they used a good textbook.

Question 4

CONTINUUM

Answer 4

• people differ in the way they explain their successes and failures but it is not simply a matter of being internal or external
• there is a continuum with high internal LOC at one end and high external LOC at the other end, with low internal and low external lying in between

Question 5

RESISTANCE TO SOCIAL INFLUENCE

Answer 5

• people with internal LOC = more likely to resist pressures to conform or obey
• they take personal responsibility for their actions, so are more likely to base their decisions on their own beliefs and resist pressure from others
• high internal LOC = more self-confident, higher intelligence and less need for social approval –> lead to greater resistance to social influence.

Question 6

AO3: RESEARCH SUPPORT - RESISTANCE TO CONFORMITY

Answer 6

• supports the role of dissenting peers in resisting conformity
  ALLEN & LEVINE (1971) found conformity decreased when there was one dissenter in an Asch-type study
• occurred even if the dissenter wore thick glasses and had poor vision
• supports the view that resistance is not just motivated by following what someone else says, but enables someone to be free from the pressure of the group

Question 7

AO3: RESEARCH SUPPORT - RESISTANCE TO OBEDIENCE

Answer 7

GAMSON ET AL. (1982) found higher levels of resistance in their study than Milgram
- probably because the ppts in their study were in GROUPS
- in their study, 88% rebelled –> peer support = linked to greater resistance

Question 8

AO3: RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR LOC

Answer 8

HOLLAND (1967) repeated Milgram’s study and measured whether ppts were internals or externals
- 37% of internals did not continue to highest shock (showed some resistance)
- 23% of externals did not continue
- internals = greater resistance to authority
- INCREASES VALIDITY OF THE LOC EXPLANATION

Question 9

AO3: CONTRADICTORY RESEARCH

Answer 9

• not all research supports the link between LOC and resistance
  TWENGE ET AL. (2004) analysed data from American LOC studied over a 40 year period
• over time, people have become more resistant to obedience but ALSO more external
• if resistance was linked to an internal LOC, we would expect more people to become more internal
• challenges link between internal LOC and increasing resistant behaviour
  HOWEVER, it is possible the results are due to a changing society where many things are out of personal control
• LACKS TEMPORAL VALIDITY