Resisting social influence Flashcards
What are the two explanations of resistance to social influence:
Social support (situational/external explanation)
Locus of control (dispositional/internal explanation)
What is Locus of control?
It is the extent to which people believe they have control over their lives.
What is internal locus of control?
any internal factors that would contribute to how some people are able to resist pressures to conform or obey.
(You make things happen)
What is external locus of control?
any external factors that would contribute to how some people are able to resist pressures to conform or obey.
(things happen to you)
Who proposed the idea of locus of control?
(Rotter, 1966)
How does internal LOC link to social influence?
High internals actively seek out information which will help them personally and are less likely to rely on others.
They are more achievement orientated. They can resist pressure from others.
How does external LOC link to social influence?
High Externals are more likely to be influenced by others as they don’t believe they exercise personal control over their lives.
What is the LOC continuum?
There is a continuum (almost like a scale) with high internal LOC at one end and high external LOC at the other end of the continuum- with low internal and low external lying in between them.
What research supports the idea in resisting conformity?
Allen and Levine (1971) found that independence increased with one dissenter in an Asch-type study. This occurred even if the dissenter wore thick glasses and said he had problems with vision.
So resistance is not motivated by following what someone else says but it enables someone to be free of pressure from one group.
What research supports the idea in resisting obedience?
Holland (1967) repeated the Milgram study and measured whether participants 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.
So internals showed greater resistance. This support increases the validity of the LOC explanation and our confidence that it can explain resistance.
How does some research not support the locus of control?
Twenge et al (2004) analysed data from American LOC studies over 40 years, showing that people have become more independent but also more external.
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 our personal control.
