resistance to social influence

Question 1

resistance to social influence definition

Answer 1

refers to the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority to to obey authority. this ability to withstand social pressure is influenced by both situational and dispositional factors

Question 2

social support definition

Answer 2

the presence if people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same. these people act as models to show others the resistance to social influence is possible

Question 3

locus of control definition

Answer 3

refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives, internals believe they are responsible for what happens to them and externals believe it is a matter of luck or other outside forces

Question 4

social support - resisting conformity

Answer 4

-the pressure to conform can be resisted if there are other people present who are not conforming. In Asch’ study the confederate not conforming may not be giving the right answer
-simply the fact that someone else is not following the majority is social support. it enables the naïve participant to be free to follow their own conscience. the confederate acts as a model of independent behaviour. the dissent gives rise to more dissent because it shows the majority is no longer unanimous

Question 5

social support - resisting obedience

Answer 5

-pressure to obey can be resisted if there is another person who is seen to disobey. in one of Milgram’s variations, the rate of obedience dropped form 65% to 10% when the genuine participant was joined by a disobedient confederate. the participant may not follow the disobedient person’s behaviour but the point is the other person’s disobedience acts as a model of dissent for the participant to copy and this frees him to act from his own conscience, the disobedient model challenges the legitimacy of the authority figure, making it easier to disobey

Question 6

who proposed locus of control

Answer 6

Rotter

Question 7

when did Rotter propose locus of control

Answer 7

1966

Question 8

what is locus control proposed as

Answer 8

a concept with internal control vs external control

Question 9

what does a person with internal LOC think

Answer 9

-they believe the things that happen to them are largely controlled by themselves.
-for example if you do well in an exam it is because you worked hard, if you didn’t do well it is because you didn’t work hard

Question 10

what does person with external LOC think

Answer 10

-believe things that happen are outside of their control.
- for example if they did well in an exam it was because they used a good textbook and if they did badly it is because they had bad luck and because the questions were hard

Question 11

how is LOC a continuum

Answer 11

-people are not just either internal or external. LOC is a scale and individuals vary in their position on it. so, high internal LOC is at one end of a continuum and high external at the other. low internal and low external lie in-between

Question 12

how does LOC effect resistance to social influence (more able to resist pressures explanation)

Answer 12

-people with a high LOC are able to resist pressures to conform or obey. if a person takes responsibility for their actions and experiences, they tend to base decisions based off their own beliefs rather then depending on opinions of others

Question 13

how does LOC effect resistance to social influence (confidence and intelligence explanation)

Answer 13

-people with high internal LOC tend to be more self-confident, more achievement orientated and have higher intelligence. these traits lead to greater resistance to social influence. these are also characteristics of leader, who have much less need for social approval than followers

Question 14

summary of two explanation for those with higher LOC being more resistant to social influence

Answer 14

-more able to resist pressures to conform or obey
-more self confidence and higher intelligence leading to greater resistance

Question 15

strength of social support as an explanation for resistance to social influence - real-world research support

Answer 15

-evidence for positive effects of social support
-for example, Albrecht et al 2006, evaluated teen fresh start USA, an eight week programme to help prementa adolescents aged 14-19 resist peer pressure to smoke. social support was provided by a lightly older buddy or mentor. at the end of the programme adolescents who had a buddy were significantly less likely to smoke than a control group of participants who did not have a buddy –> shows that social support can help young people resist social influence as part of an intervention in the real world

Question 16

strength of social support as an explant ion for resistance to social influence - research support for dissenting peers

Answer 16

-evidence to support the role of dissenting peers in resisting obedience
-Gamson et al 1982, participants were told to produce evidence that would be used to help an oil company run a smear campaign. the researchers found higher levels of resistance in study than Milgram did in his. this is probably because participants were in groups so could discuss what they were told to do. 29/33 groups of participants (88%) rebelled against their orders –> shows that peer support can lead to disobedience by undermining the legitimacy of an authority figure

Question 17

evaluation of social support as an explanation for resistance to social influence - social support explanation

Answer 17

• a study by Allen and Levine 1971, showed that social support can help individuals resist influence of a group. in an Asch type task, when the dissenter was someone with apparently good eyesight, 64% of participants refused to conform. when there was no supporter at all only 3% of participants resisted
  -however, this study also showed that social support does not always help. this is because when the dissenter had obviously poor eyesight (thick glasses) resistance was only 36%

Question 18

strength of locus of control as an explanation for resistance to social influence - research support

Answer 18

-research evidence to support the link between LOC and resistance to obedience
-Holland 1967, repeated Milgram’s baseline study and measured whether participants were internals or externals. he found 37% of internals did not continue to the highest shock level where as only 23% did not continue. internals showed greater resistance to authority in a Milgram type situation –> shows that resistance if at least partly related to LOC, which increases the validity of LOC as an explanation of disobedience

Question 19

limitation of locus of control as an explanation for resistance to social influence - contradictory research

Answer 19

-evidence challenges link between LOC and resistance
-for example Twenge et al 2004, analysed the data from American locus of control studies conducted over a 40 year period (from 1960 to 2002). the data showed that, over this time span, people became more resistant to obedience but also more external. this is a surprising outcome. if resistance is linked to internal locus of control, we would expect people to have become more internal –> suggests that LOC is not a valid explanation of how people resist social influence

Question 20

evaluation of locus of control as an explanation for resistance to social influence - limited role of LOC

Answer 20

• many studies such as Holland 1967 show that having an internal LOC is linked with being able to resist social influence
  -however, Rotter points out that LOC is not necessarily the most important factor in determining whether someone resist social influence. LOC’s role depends on the situation. a persons LOC only significant affects their behaviour in new situations. if you have conformed or obeyed in a specific situation in the past, the chance are you will do so again in that situation regardless of whether you have an high internal or high external LOC