Resistance To Social Influence

Question 1

What are the types of resistance to social influence?

Answer 1

Social support

Locus off control

Question 2

What is social support?

Answer 2

The perception that an individual has assistance available from other people, and that they are part of a supportive network.

Question 3

What are the sections within social support?

Answer 3

And resisting conformity

And resisting obedience

Question 4

What did Asch (1956) find?

Answer 4

That the presence of social support enables an individual to resist conformity pressure from the majority.

Question 5

What happened in a variation of Asch’s study?

Answer 5

The introduction of an ally who also gave the right answer (and so appeared to resist the majority) caused conformity levels to drop sharply.

The social support offered by the ally led to a reduction in conformity from 33% (with a unanimous majority) to just 5.5%.

Question 6

What’s the most important aspect of social support?

Answer 6

Appears to be that is breaks the unanimous position of the majority.

Question 7

How does social support help resist conformity?

Answer 7

Supporters and dissenters are likely to be effective in reducing conformity because, by breaking the unanimity of the majority, they raise the possibility that there are other, equally legitimate, ways of thinking or responding.

The presence of an ally provides the individual with an independent assessment of reality that makes them feel more confident in their decision and better able to stand up to the majority.

Question 8

Why is it difficult to resist obedience?

Answer 8

It is often difficult to take a stand against authority because the obedient behaviour of others makes even a harmful action appear acceptable.

However, their disobedience can change that perception.

Question 9

How does social support help with resisting obedience?

Answer 9

Research has shown that individuals are generally more confident in their ability to resist the temptation to obey if they can find an ally who is willing to join them in opposing the authority figure.

Question 10

What do disobedient peers do?

Answer 10

Act as role models on which the individual can model their own behaviour.

Individuals are able to use the defiance to peers as an opportunity to extricate themselves from having to cause any further harm to a victim as a result of their obedience.

Question 11

What’s the most important aspect of social support?

Answer 11

Appears to be that is breaks the unanimous position of the majority.

Question 12

What does locus of control mean?

Answer 12

People differ in their beliefs about whether the outcomes of their actions are dependent on what they do (internal LoC) or on events outside their personal control (external LoC).

Question 13

What does internality mean?

Answer 13

Individuals who tend to believe that they are responsible for their behaviour and experience rather than external forces.

Question 14

What does externality mean?

Answer 14

Individuals who tend to believe that their behaviour and experience is caused by events outside their control.

Question 15

What is a strong internal LoC associated with?

Answer 15

The belief that we can control events in our life.

People believe that what happens to them is largely a consequence of their own ability and effort.

Question 16

What is a strong external LoC associated with?

Answer 16

Tend to believe that what happens to them is determined by external factors, such as influence of others or luck.

They have a sense that things ‘just happen to them’ and are largely out of their control.

Question 17

What are people with high internality like to show?

Answer 17

They are more likely to display independence in thought and behaviour.

Question 18

What are people with high externality like to show?

Answer 18

Have a more passive and fatalistic attitude, taking less personal responsibility for their actions.

Less likely to display independent behaviour and more likely to accept the influence of others.

Question 19

Which LoC is better able to resist social influence?

Answer 19

People with high internality - rely less on the opinions of others.

Question 20

What are the characteristics internals have?

Answer 20

High internals are active seekers of information that is useful to them, and so are less likely to rely on the opinions of others, making them less vulnerable to social influence.

High internals tend to be more achievement-oriented and consequently more likely to become leaders rather than follow others

High internals are better able to resist coercion from others.

Question 21

What’s an example of internals being better able to resist coercion from others?

Answer 21

In a stimulated prisoner-of-war camp situation, internals were better able to resist the attempts of an interrogator to gain information.

The more intense pressure, the greater the difference between the internal’s performance and that of the external’s (Hutchins and Estey, 1978).

Question 22

What’s an example of social support and resisting obedience?

Answer 22

For example, in one of Milgram’s variations, the participants was one of a team of three testing the learner.

The other two were actually confederates who, one after another, refused to continue shocking the learner and withdrew.

The defiance had a liberating influence on the real participants, with only 10% continuing to the maximum 450V shock level.

Question 23

Why is it difficult to resist obedience?

Answer 23

It is often difficult to take a stand against authority because the obedient behaviour of others makes even a harmful action appear acceptable.

However, their disobedience can change that perception.

Question 24

What’s an example of internals being better able to resist coercion from others?

Answer 24

In a stimulated prisoner-of-war camp situation, internals were better able to resist the attempts of an interrogator to gain information.

The more intense pressure, the greater the difference between the internal’s performance and that of the external’s (Hutchins and Estey, 1978).

Question 25

What’s an example of social support and resisting obedience?

Answer 25

For example, in one of Milgram’s variations, the participants was one of a team of three testing the learner.

The other two were actually confederates who, one after another, refused to continue shocking the learner and withdrew.

The defiance had a liberating influence on the real participants, with only 10% continuing to the maximum 450V shock level.