resistence to social influence Flashcards
locus of control
rotter - measured on a scale of high internal to high external.
people resist if they have a high internal locus of control. high external less likely to resist
HILOC
- takes personal responsibility for their actions and experiences
base decisions on own beliefs
they have: - high self confidence
- achievement orientated
- have higher intelligence
- less need for social approval
HELOC
more likely to believe in luck, fate and superstitions. believe that external factors affect decisions
they are:
- less confident
- seek social approval
- look to others to see what to do
social support
if a person has social support i.e. another person is disobeying they are likely to resist social influence.
Asch explanation
he has one disserting participant and found that conformity decreased
how does social support affect conformity?
it breaks the unanimity and the naïve participant is free to follow their own conscience because the confederate acted as a model of independent behaviour
Milgram explanation
he gave his genuine participant a disobedient confederate which allowed them to act from their own conscience because the other person’s disobedience acts as a model of dissent :- obedience decreased.
one strength
P: further research evidence to support the importance of social support. E: Gamson et al found higher levels of resistance similar to Milgram’s study. 29/33 pts rebelled against orders. T: this means that the peer support can influence obedience by undermining the legitimacy of authority figure.
one limitation
P: there is research evidence which challenges the link between locus of control and resistance. E: Twenge et al found that data from American locus of control studies showed people had become more resistant to obedience over the previous 40 years, but also more external. T: this means that it is a problem because it weakens validity of locus of control as an explanation of obedience.
one strength
P: there is supporting evidence to show that having and internal LOC is linked to being able to resist social influence. E: rotter points out that LOC is not necessarily the most important factor in determining resistance to social influence. it depends on situation. T: this means that LOC will not affect the way people resist social influence in familiar situations - people who have obeyed or conformed previously, will probably do it again regardless of their LOC
