Social Influence - Explanations of resistance, social influence and LoC

Question 1

What does resistance to social influence involve?

Answer 1

Both disobedience and non-conformity

Question 2

What are the two forms of non-conformity?

Answer 2

Independence - a lack of consistent movement either towards or away from social expectancy

Anti-conformity - a consistent movement away from social conformity

Question 3

What are dissenters?

Answer 3

Others in a social group who defy attempts to make them conform and obey

Question 4

What does the presence of a dissenter create?

Answer 4

A strong source of defiance

Question 5

What is a dissenter an example of? Why?

Answer 5

Social support because it would represent another person who then makes it easier for others to also dissent

Question 6

What did Asch’s line judgement task find when the dissenter answered correctly from the start of the study?

Answer 6

Conformity levels dropped from 32% to 5.5%

Question 7

How was conformity affected in Asch’s study when the dissenter answered correctly later in the study?

Answer 7

conformity dropped from 32% to 5.5% –> shows that social support received earlier is more effective

Question 8

What happened when two confederates who were paired with real participants left saying that they wouldn’t continue?

Answer 8

Only 10% of participants gave the maximum 450-volt shock

Question 9

What is the effect of disobedient group norms?

Answer 9

The creation of disobedient group norms puts more pressure on participants to conform

Question 10

What did Rotter design?

Answer 10

A 13-part questionnaire to measure internal and external locus of control
Scores ranged from 0-13
low score = internal control
high score = external control

Question 11

What is locus of control?

Answer 11

The extent to which people think they’re in control of their own lives.

Question 12

What is Internal LoC?

Answer 12

The belief that things happen as a result of our choices and decisions

Question 13

What is External LoC?

Answer 13

The belief that things happen because of luck, fate, or other external forces beyond the control of the individual.

Question 14

What type of LoC means that an individual is more likely to conform?

Answer 14

Individuals with an internal locus of control are less likely to conform than those with an external locus of control

Question 15

What did Spector find out about LoC?

Answer 15

Participants with high external LoC conformed more than low external LoC, but only in situations involving normative social pressure

Question 16

Neither groups (high or low external LoC) in Spector’s study conformed in situations of informational social influence. What does this show?

Answer 16

Shows that feeling like we don’t need to be accepted into a social group increases our ability to resist social influence.

Question 17

What did Moghaddam found about LoC? What does this show?

Answer 17

Found that Japanese people conform more easily than Americans and also have a more external Loc.

–> shows that cultural differences in conformity can be explained by differences in LoC.

Question 18

What does social support do?

Answer 18

Breaks the unanimity of the majority. The ally acts as a model, and makes the individual feel more confident to follow their own conscience and make their own decision.

Question 19

What does a dissenter do?

Answer 19

Reduces the unanimity of the group - this makes it easier for others to act independently as they free the individual to act from their own conscience.