Resistance to social influence

Question 1

What is the difference between conformity and obedience?

Answer 1

• Conformity - A change in a person’s behaviour or opinion as a result of real or imagined pressure from a person or group.
• Obedience - A form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order. The person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority who has the power to punish.

Question 2

What is resistance to social influence?

Answer 2

• Refers to the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or obey authority. This ability to withstand social pressure is influenced by both situational and dispositional factors.

Question 3

What is social support for conformity?

Answer 3

• Social support can help people resist the pressures of conformity. Pressure is reduced when other people are supporting you and are not conforming.

Question 4

What research shows social support for conformity?

Answer 4

• In Asch’s study a dissenter increases the chance that the naive participant will follow their own mind and conscience.
• However, In Asch’s study if non-conforming people start to conform again, the naive participant will also conform again. This demonstrates that the dissenter does not have long-lasting effects.

Question 5

What is social support for obedience?

Answer 5

• Social support can help people resist obedience. The pressure to obey is reduced if someone else is disobeying.

Question 6

What research shows social support for obedience?

Answer 6

• In Milgram’s variation the rate of obedience decreased from 65% to 10% when the genuine participant was joined by a disobedient Confederate.
• This participant might not follow the disobedient person’s behaviour, however, the other person’s disobedience acts as a ‘model’ for the participant to copy. This allows the participant to act on his own conscience.

Question 7

What is a locus of control (LOC)?

Answer 7

• Refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives.
• Internals believe that they are mostly responsible for what happens to them (internal locus of control).
• Externals believe it is mainly a matter of luck or other outside forces (external locus of control).

Question 8

How does having a high internal LOC effect resistance to social influence?

Answer 8

• People who have a high internal LOC are more likely to be able to resist pressure to conform or obey.
• If a person takes personal responsibility for their actions and experiences, they are more likely to base their decisions on their own beliefs and therefore resist pressures from others.

Question 9

What traits do people with high internal LOC possess?

Answer 9

They are:
- More self-confident
- Achievement-orientated
- Higher intelligence
- less need for social approval

These personality traits lead to greater resistance to social influence.

Question 10

(AO3) What is a strength of resistance to conformity?

Answer 10

Research support:

• Research evidence supports the role of dissenting peers in resisting conformity.
• Allen and Levine (1971) - found that conformity decreased when there was one dissenter in an Asch-type study. More importantly, this occurred even if the dissenter wore thick glasses and said he had difficulty with his vision (so he was clearly in no position to judge the length of the lines).
• This supports the view that resistance is not just motivated by following what someone else says but enables someone to be free of the pressure from the group.

Question 11

(AO3) What is a strength of resistance to obedience?

Answer 11

Research support:

• Research evidence supports the role of dissenting peers in resisting obedience.
• Gamson et al (1982) - found higher levels of resistance in their study than Milgram. This was probably because the participants in Gamson’s study were in groups (they had to produce evidence that would be used to help an oil company run a smear campaign).
• In Gamson’s study, 29 out of 33 groups of participants (88%) rebelled. This shows that peer support is linked to greater resistance.

Question 12

(AO3) What is a weakness of this explanation?

Answer 12

Contradictory research:

• Not all research supports the link between LOC and resistance.
• Twenge et al (2004) - analysed data from American LOC studies over a 40-year period (1960-2002). The data showed that, over this time span, people have become more resistant to obedience but also more external. If resistance were linked to an internal LOC, we would expect people to have become more internal.
• This challenges the link between LOC and increasing resistant behaviour. However, it is possible that the results are due to a changing society where many things are out of personal control.