Section 1 : Social Influence - Resistance To Social Influence

Question 1

Having ….. makes people more resistant to social influence

Answer 1

Social support

Question 2

Resistance to Social Influence
Social Support

Answer 2

Resisting Conformity - dissenting peer

reduces pressure to conform

disseneter does not have to be correct

breaks unanimity

Resisting obedience - dissenting partner

obedience reduced to 10%

dissenter challenges legitimacy of authorative figure

Question 3

More of Milgram’s participants resisted orders if there were other participants present who refused to obey, what does this suggest

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What did Asch find in his studies when he made one of the confederates agree with the participant

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Strength
Evidence for role of support in resisting conformity

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Strength
Evidence for role of support for dissenting peers

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Strength
Social Support Valid Explanation of Resistance

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What may influence independent behaviour

Answer 8

Aspects of personality

Question 10

Resistance to social influence
Locus of control

Answer 10

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

Question 11

What is the Locus of control

Answer 11

This indicates how much control you believe you have over events in your life

Question 12

Who feels more likely to resist social influence

Answer 12

People who feel they’re generally in control of what happens in their life - dispositional explanation for resistance

Question 13

Who made a questionnaire to measure locus of control

Answer 13

Rotter (1966)

Question 14

What was the basis of the questionnaire

Answer 14

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

Question 15

What happens if you agreed to the first statement in the questionaire

Answer 15

You have internal locus of control

Question 16

What is internal locus of control

Answer 16

This is categorised by a belief that what happens in your life results from your own behaviour or actions

Question 17

What happens if you agree with the second statement in the questionnaire

Answer 17

You have external locus control

Question 18

What is external locus of control

Answer 18

A belief that events are caused by external factors, like luck or actions of others

Question 19

Give an example of internal locus of control

Answer 19

If you done well in a test you might put it down on how much you revised for it

Question 20

Give an example external locus of control

Answer 20

If you done well in a test you might put it down to good questions coming up, or a lenient examiner

Question 21

What do people with an internal locus of control have over people with external locus of control

Answer 21

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

Question 22

What are people with internal locus of control less likely to do

Answer 22

Conform or obey

Question 23

What are people with an external locus of control more likely to do

Answer 23

Conform or obey

Question 24

strength LOC
Evidence to support role of LOC in resisting obedience

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Weakness LOC
Not all research supports role fo LOC in resistance

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Weakness
LOC can only predict behaviour in some situations

Answer 26

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