Section 1 : Social Influence - Resistance To Social Influence Flashcards
Having ….. makes people more resistant to social influence
Social support
what is resistance to social influence
the ability of people to withstand social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey to authority, this is influenced by situational and dispositional factors
define social support
the presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey, this can help others resist the pressure to conform
the people act as models, showing the others resistance to social influence is possible
Resistance to Social Influence
Social Support
Resisting Conformity - dissenting peer
reduces pressure to conform
disseneter does not have to be correct (Asch concluded)
breaks unanimity
Resisting obedience - dissenting partner
obedience reduced to 10% (from 65%)
dissenter acts as a model
dissenter challenges legitimacy of authorative figure
easier to disobey
More of Milgram’s participants resisted orders if there were other participants present who refused to obey, what does this suggest
This suggests that people find it easier to stand up to authority if they have support from others because they no longer have to take full responsibility for rebelling
What did Asch find in his studies when he made one of the confederates agree with the participant
He found that participants were more likely to resist the pressure to conform if one of the confederates agreed with them. It seems that people are more likely to display independent behaviour if they’ve got support from others
Strength
Evidence for role of support in resisting conformity
programme to help pregnant adolescants, resist pressure to smoke, given social support buddy
less likely to smoke, than control group without buddy
social support, help young people resist social influence in real world situations
Strength
Evidence for role of support for dissenting peers
Gamson et al - asked groups to give evidence for an oil company to use in a smear campaign
88% rebelled against orders
higher levels of resistance than Milgram
pts in groups
peer support can lead to disobedience by undermining legitimacy of authorative figure
Strength
Social Support Valid Explanation of Resistance
3% of Allen and Levines pts resisted conformity when no supporter, 64% resisted when dissented refused to conform
only 36% resisted when supporter had poor eyesight
expect less resistance to conformity weh social support is believed to not be helpful
What may influence independent behaviour
Aspects of personality
locus of control definition
refers to the sense we have about what directs events in our lives
internals - believe they are responible for what happens to them
externals - believe events are due to luck or external factors
Resistance to social influence
Locus of control
Internals, control on themselves, externals, control on others Rotter, described internals vs externals LOC blame in exam
continuum - LOC people can have tendancies of both eg can be low internal or low external
internals show greater resistance to social influence - more liekly to resist pressure to conform/obey
eg take personal respinsibility for actions, more likely to act on their own beliefs
high internal LOC, more confident, more intelligent, greater resistance, less need for social approval
What is the Locus of control
This indicates how much control you believe you have over events in your life
Who feels more likely to resist social influence
People who feel they’re generally in control of what happens in their life - dispositional explanation for resistance
Who made a questionnaire to measure locus of control
Rotter (1966)
What was the basis of the questionnaire
It involved choosing between paired statements e.g. :
A: Misfortune is usually brought about by people’s own actions
B: Things that make us unhappy are largely due to bad luck
What happens if you agreed to the first statement in the questionaire
You have internal locus of control
What is internal locus of control
This is categorised by a belief that what happens in your life results from your own behaviour or actions
What happens if you agree with the second statement in the questionnaire
You have external locus control
What is external locus of control
A belief that events are caused by external factors, like luck or actions of others
Give an example of internal locus of control
If you done well in a test you might put it down on how much you revised for it
Give an example external locus of control
If you done well in a test you might put it down to good questions coming up, or a lenient examiner
What do people with an internal locus of control have over people with external locus of control
People with an internal locus of control feel a stronger sense of control over their lives than people with an external locus of control - this means they’re more likely to exhibit independent behaviour
What are people with internal locus of control less likely to do
Conform or obey
What are people with an external locus of control more likely to do
Conform or obey
strength LOC
Evidence to support role of LOC in resisting obedience
Holland Repeated Milgrams study
37% internals did not continue to highest level
23% externals did not continue
internals showed greater resistance to authority
resistance is related to LOC
increases validity of LOC as explanation of disobedience
Weakness LOC
Not all research supports role fo LOC in resistance
Twenge et al analysed data from American Locus of Control, 40 years worth
showed people have become more independant but more external
BUT
if resistance was linked to internal LOC - we would expect people to have become more internal
LOC may not be a valid explanation for resistance to social influence
Weakness
LOC can only predict behaviour in some situations
Rotter pointed out LOC - only influences behaviour in new situations
familiar situations, previous responses are always more important
validity of LOC explanation is limited, can predict resistance in some situations but not others
