Resistance to social influence (social support and locus of control)

Question 1

what is resistance to social influence

Answer 1

• refers to the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority.
• The ability to withstand social pressure is influenced by both situational and dispositional factors
• The two explanations you need to know are:
• Social support - situational factors
• Locus of control (LOC) - dispositional factors

Question 2

what is social support

Answer 2

• The presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same.
• These people act as models to show others that resistance to social influence is possible

Question 3

what is the social support AO1 for conformity

Answer 3

• Conformity is reduced by a dissenting peer
• The effect is not long lasting
• Asch found that conformity reduced to 5.5% when one of the confederates gave a different answer to the rest of the group
• This was true even when the confederates answer was a different wrong answer the others in the group
• Social support breaks the unanimous position of the majority (-ve for Asch’s study)

Question 4

what is the social support AO3 for conformity

Answer 4

• Allen and Levine (1971) found independence increased with one dissenter in an Asch-type study. - Even if the dissenter wore thick glasses and said he had problems with his vision.
• Resistance is not motivated by following what someone else says but it enables someone to be free of the pressure from the group

Question 5

what is the social support AO1 for obedience

Answer 5

• Obedience is reduced by one other dissenting partner
• The dissenter’s disobedience frees the pp to act from their own conscience

Milgram found that obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the genuine pps was joined by a disobedient confederate
- Independent behaviour increased from 35% to 90% in the disobedient peer condition
- people are more confident to resist obedience if they can find an ally who is willing to join them (-ve for Milgram’s study)

Question 6

what is the social support AO3 for obedience

Answer 6

• Gamson et al (1982) found higher levels of resistance in their study than Milgram - This was probably because they were in groups
• They had to produce evidence to help an oil company run a ‘smear campaign’
• 29/33 groups of pps (88%) rebelled
• This shows that peer support is linked to greater resistance

Question 7

what is locus of control

Answer 7

• refers to the sense we have about what directs events in our lives
• Rotter 1966 proposed the concept of locus of control - internal vs external

Question 8

what is internal locus of control

Answer 8

Internals believe that they are mostly responsible for what happens to them

Question 9

what is external locus of control

Answer 9

Externals believe that things happen without their own control

Question 10

how does locus of control affect resistance to social influence

Answer 10

• People with internal LOC are more likely to be able to resist pressure to conform or obey:
• If someone takes personal responsibility for their actions and experiences (good or bad) they are more likely to base their decisions on their own beliefs
• People with high internal LOC are more self-confident, more achievement-oriented, have higher intelligence and less need for social approval.
• These personality traits lead to greater resistance to social influence

Question 11

what is the +ve AO3 for locus of control

Answer 11

Research support:
- Holland (1967) repeated Milgram’s study and measured whether pps were internals or externals
- 37% of internals did not continue to the highest shock level (they showed independence)
- Only 23% of externals did not continue
- As internals showed greater resistance this support increases the validity of the LOC explanation and our confidence that it can explain resistance

Question 12

what are the -ve AO3 points for locus of control

Answer 12

• contradictory research
• the role of locus of control may be exaggerated

Question 13

expand on the -ve AO3 point, contradictory research

Answer 13

• Twenge et al (2004) analysed data from American obedience studies over a 40-year period (1960-2002)
• The data showed that, over this time span, people have become more resistant to obedience but more external
• If resistance were linked to an internal LOC then we would expect people to have become more internal
• This challenges the link between internal LOC and resistance
• However, the results may be due to a changing society where many things are increasingly outside personal control

Question 14

expand on the -ve AO3 point, the role of locus of control may be exaggerated

Answer 14

• Rotter et al (1982) found LOC is only important in new situations – it has little influence in familiar situations where previous experiences are always more important
• This does suggest that locus of control can explain only a limited range of situations in which people might resist social influence.
• This means that locus of control is not as important a factor in resistance as some have suggested.