Resistance to social influence Flashcards
Resistance to social influence
The ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority. This ability is influenced by situational and dispositional factors.
Locus of control
Refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives. Internals believe they’re mostly responsible for what happens to them. Externals believe it’s mainly a matter of luck or other outside forces.
Examples of disobedience or lack of conformity
Sheridan and King experiment - only obedience amongst women, not men
Milgram’s experiment - 65% obedience, situational variables showed disobedience(changes in uniform caused large levels of disobedience).
Asch’s study - not everyone conformed
Why people resist conformity and obedience
Moral reasons
Confidence
Knew situation wasn’t always realistic
Intelligence(engineering students)
Social support
Strong views
Social support and resisting conformity features
Social support enabled people to resist conformity.
The introduction of an ally caused conformity levels to drop sharply from 33% to 5.5%(Asch’s experiment)
Social support and resisting conformity explanation
An ally raises the responsibility there are other legitimate ways of thinking, and makes them feel more confident in resisting the majority.
Social support and resisting obedience features
Milgram’s variation - three individuals testing the learner with 2 confederates who resisted, the result being only 10% continued to the full shock level.
Social support and resisting obedience explanation
Individuals are more confident in their ability to resist when they have an ally who’s willing to oppose the authority figure.
Someone else’s disobedience acts as a ‘model’ to copy free the conscience.
Why do people in the internal locus of control have a greater resistance to social influence?
Because they are more self-confident, achievement-oriented and intelligent
Internal locus of control key features
Tend to be leaders
Resist control from others - control own destiny
More likely to blame themselves if something goes wrong
External locus of control key features
Believe others control destiny.
Good understanding of social/world issues.
A critical mind
Better interpersonal skills
Positive evaluation - resistance to conformity
Allen and Levine(1971)- conformity decreased when there was one dissenter in an Asch-type study. This also happened if the dissenter wore thick glasses and said he had difficulty with his vision.
This evaluation supports the view resistant isn’t just motivated by following what someone else says, but it enables someone to be free of the pressure from the group.
Supporting evaluation - importance of response order
Allen and Levine - All
participants went last. People were more likely to conform when the confederate with the right answer went first as they made a social commitment to the answer.
Less likely when confederate went 4th- didn’t have enough time to socially commit.
Supporting evaluation - resistance to obedience
Gamson et al(1963) found higher levels of resistance in their study than Milgram.
Unjust authority - manager was sacked because his lifestyle was offensive to the local community:
Participants were in groups and had to produce evidence that would be used to help an oil company run a smear campaign. If they agreed with their manager, they signed a consent form for their discussion to be shown in the ‘trial.’ 88% rebelled, showing social support is linked to greater resistance.
Positive research support for locus of control
Holland(1967):
Measured which participants were internal or external
37% of internals didn’t continue to the highest shock level,compared to 23% of externals(increased validity)
However, Twenge et al analysed data from American LOC studies (1960-2002).
Over time, people have become more resistant to obedience, but also more external, due to a changing society.
