Resistance To Social Influence

Question 1

Conformity (social support)

Answer 1

in a dissenter condition (lack of group agreement) when 1 confederate gave the other incorrect answer, conformity dropped to 9% and when 1 confederate gave the correct answer, conformity dropped to 5%. (Social support breaks the pressure)

Question 2

Obedience (social support)

Answer 2

in a dissenter variation, another teacher (confederate) is in with the participant, who refuses to continue, obedience drops to 10%. The model challenges authority, allows person to act on own conscious.

Question 3

AO3 Strengths of social support

Answer 3

+ albreht: to stop pregnant girls smoking, they were paired with an older, non-smoking buddy. They were less likely to smoke (than a control group, no buddy)
+ Gamson: participants were put into groups to create a smear campaign about an oil company. 29/33 groups rebelled (resistance is more likely with our support)
+ When one dissenter (someone that goes against the group) wore thick glasses and complained about poor visions, broke the group agreement, conformity still dropped (person doesn’t have to be legit, pressure just needs to be broken).

Question 4

Locus of control definition

Answer 4

The basic idea of locus of control is that it describes the extent an individual feels in control of what happens to them and the extent to which they, as an individual, can affect their life.

Question 5

Internal LOC:

Answer 5

• independent
• goal oriented
• take responsibility
• higher intelligence
  Able to resist social influence

Question 6

External LOC:

Answer 6

External LOC:
- dependent
- fatalistic
- things just happen
- rely on social approval
Do not resist social influence

Question 7

Strength of locus’ of control

Answer 7

+ Holland repeated Milgram’s study and got participants to complete a questionnaire to determine their LOC. 37% of internals did not go to 450v, 23% of externals did not go to 450v (internals are more likely to defy an order).

Question 8

AO3 weaknesses

Answer 8

• Twenge: An analysis over the last 40 years has suggested that people have become more independent but more external (suggests that the LOC explanation is not valid as this should not happen).
• Rotter: suggested that LOC is only applicable in new situations, therefore is an incomplete explanation as it cannot explain defiance in known situations.