Resistance to Social Influence

Question 1

Asch (1956)

Answer 1

found that the presence of social support enables an individual to resist conformity pressure from the majority

Question 2

Evaluation -
Allen and Levine (1969):
the importance of response order

Answer 2

studied whether the position of the person providing social support made any difference to a person resisting the majority. In one condition a confederate gave the same right answer first and in the second condition gave it fourth and support was more effective in position 1 than 4 showing that this produces a initial commitment to the correct response

Question 3

Evaluation -
Allen and Levine (1971):
support doesn’t have to be valid to be effective

Answer 3

looked at whether social support that isn’t particularly valid would still be effective in resisting conformity
Condition 1: confederate wore thick glasses thus invalid social support considering it’s a visual discrimination task
Condition 2: confederate had normal vision thus valid social support
Findings: both conditions reduced conformity but valid social support had a greater impact

Question 4

Evaluation -
Stoltzfus (1996):
real world support: The Rosenstrasse Protest

Answer 4

During the Rosenstrasse protest German women used the social support provided by other woman to defy the orders of the Gestapo and continue to demand the release of their husbands and sons

Question 5

Avtgis (1998)

Answer 5

did a meta analysis looking at the relationship between locus of control and social influence. He found that there was a positive correlation. Externals conformed more and were more easily influenced.