Resistance to social influence Flashcards
What is resistance to social pressure?
The ability of individuals to oppose the pressure to conform to a majority group irrespective or obey an authority figure by maintaining personal autonomy and integrity in their thoughts decisions and actions
What are the two explanations to resistance to social influence
Social support (a situational explanation)
Locus of control (a dispositional explanation)
What is the diffusion of responsibility?
The more people who disobey the less severe the consequences are likely to be.
For exampls a protest
What is social support?
having the presence of others who defy authority figures or go against the majority opinion.
They can reduce the perceived risk of nonconformity or disobedience
Linked to diffusion of social responsibility
Why does social support help individuals resist social influence?
By providing a disobedient role model (obedience)
Or creating a small alternate group to belong to (conformity)
It also breaks the groups unanimity and challenges the legitimacy of the authority figure
How does Aschs research support the social support explanation?
In the unanimity variation, when the confederate provided social support by giving the correct response, conformity dripped significantly from 32% of critical trials to 5.5% of critical trials
How does Aschs research contradict the social support explanation?
Even with social support, people still gave the wrong answer on an unambiguous task in 5.5% of trials, which suggests some people have a dispositional inability to residt social influence
What is Locus of Control (LOC) as an explanation of resistance to social influence?
Rotter (1966) suggests LOC is a factor of personality. This is a sense of what controls their lives, and can be measured on a scale ranging from a high internal LOC (themselves) to a high external LOC (eg fate or government).
A high internal LOC is an ability to resist social influence pressure
Explain the difference between a high external and internal LOC
High internal LOC: These people feel their actions control their lives, and have responsibility for their own actions. They are less concerned with social approval.
High external LOC: These people feel their lives are controlled by external forces, such as other people, fate and the government
How does Hollands (1967) research support the LOC explanation?
In a replication of Milgram participants were assessed for LOC. 37% of those with an internal LOC refused to obey and deliver the highest shock level, compared to 23% with an external LOC
What other explanations for resistance to social influence may be more likely than LOC?
LOC is a dispositional explanation of resistance. Others have found sutuational factors are critical to whether an individual can resist social influence. For example location and uniform (Milgram) and presence of social support (Asch)
What other explanations for resistance to social influence may be more likely than LOC?
LOC is a dispositional explanation of resistance. Others have found sutuational factors are critical to whether an individual can resist social influence. For example location and uniform (Milgram) and presence of social support (Asch)
