Resistance to social influence + Minority influence (Social Influence)

Question 1

Resistance to social influence

Answer 1

The ability of individuals to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority

Question 2

Social Support

Answer 2

Seeing others resist social influence reduces the pressure to obey or conform by increasing the individuals confidence

Shown in Asch and Milgram

Question 3

Locus of control (Rotter)

Answer 3

Personality scale from high internal to high external

The factors people believe control their actions

Question 4

Internal LOC and External LOC

Answer 4

Internal - See themselves as responsible, this personal agency enables them to resist social influence

External - See factors like fate or luck so are less empowered to effect change in their lives and less able resist social pressure

Question 5

Locus of Control Evaluations

Answer 5

Spector found people with internal LOC were more able to resist NSI but were just as likely as externals to conform to ISI

Other factors such as social status and anxiety are involved in resistance

Question 6

Minority influence

Answer 6

A form of social influence in which a minority of people persuade others to adopt their beliefs, attitudes and behaviours

Question 7

Method (Moscovici 1969 minority influence)

Answer 7

A laboratory experiment investigating minority influence using 192 women.
In groups of six at a time, participants judged the colour of 36 slides. All slides were blue with varying brightness

Question 8

Results (Moscovici 1969 minority influence)

Answer 8

In the consistent group participants adopted the minority view 8.4% of the time and 32% of participants did at least once

In the inconsistent group, they only adopted the minority position 1.25% of the time

Question 9

Conclusion (Moscovici 1969 minority influence)

Answer 9

The confederates in the minority influenced the real participants.

The use of the two conditions illustrated that the minority had more influence when they were consistent in calling the slides green

Question 10

Factors affecting a minority influence

Answer 10

Consistency (diachronic and synchronic)

Commitment

Flexibility

Question 11

Consistency (includes synchronic and diachronic)

Answer 11

Minorities are more effective if members of the minority repeat the same message over time (diachronic consistency) or group members repeat the same message at the same time (synchronic consistency

Question 12

Commitment

Answer 12

The minority suffering for their views it shows they aren’t acting out of self interest and majority take their position seriously after seeing their dedication

Question 13

Augmentation principle

Answer 13

If there are risks associated with putting forward the point of view, then the views are taken more seriously

Question 14

Flexibility

Answer 14

Willingness to consider other views, may create sympathy for a minority group from others

Question 15

Snowball effect

Answer 15

Minority view catches attention and becomes a majority view.

Question 16

Evaluations of Resistance to Minority Influence

Answer 16

Moscovici found consistency exerted more influence on a majority

Lacked ecological validity being a laboratory experiment

Cannot generalise results; only women were involved