Resistance to Social Influence Flashcards
Social support - Resisting Conformity
In Asch’s line study, introduction of someone who also gave the correct answer caused conformity levels to drop sharply.
-breaks the unanimous support of the majority (confederates)
-makes the individual more confident in their decision
Social support - Resisting Obedience
Obedience is less likely to occur if there is an ally supporting the resistance
-disobedient peers act as role models
In Milgram’s baseline study, when a confederate ‘teacher’ refused to shock the ‘learner’, the real ppts also stopped
-In this variation, only 10% of real ppts still continued to the highest shock level
AO3
Social Support for resisting conformity - ‘Order of response’
If the ally confederate made their decision FIRST, the real ppt didn’t conform to the other majority confederates. They went with the answer that they initially thought was correct
If the ally confederate made their decision one go before the real ppt (4th), the ppt still conformed with the majority confederates
AO3 +
Social support in resisting obedience - ‘Real world application’
Group of women protesting against Nazi massacre of Jews in Germany
-The protesters didn’t back down, and the Nazis let the Jews live
-The presence of other disobedient peers gave the ppts confidence to resist (similar to the ppts in Milgram’s baseline study)
What is an INTERNAL locus of control?
People with a high INTERNAL locus of control are active seekers of information that is USEFUL to themselves
-They are less likely to rely on others
-They are less likely to be socially influenced
-Therefore more likely to be leaders, and more likely to resist against others
The greater the pressure of the situation, the more obvious the difference between those with an internal or external locus of control becomes
What is an EXTERNAL locus of control?
People with a high EXTERNAL locus of control think that events outside their control drive their actions and outcomes
-They believe they got ‘lucky’ or ‘unlucky’
-It is believed that they conform more than internals
AO3 -
Locus of control- ‘Relates to normative, but not informational’
Externals would conform more than internals to normative pressure
-However they would NOT conform more to informational pressure (they don’t care about useful information, they don’t think they can affect an outcome)
-Internals may conform more when it is informational conformity
AO3 +
Locus of control- ‘Meta-Analysis’
Meta-analysis found a positive correlation between internality/externality scores and measures of persuasion, social influence and conformity
-Higher externals are more easily persuaded and conform more than internals
