Social influence: influence of others

Question 1

What is resistance to social influence?

Answer 1

the ability to withstand social pressure to conform to the majority, which is influenced by both social and dispositional factors

Question 2

What is social support?

Answer 2

• the pressure to conform can be resisted if there are other people present who are not conforming
• it enables someone to be free to follow their own conscience
• this is the same for resisting obedience, there is less pressure to obey if somebody else is not obeying

Question 3

What are some positives of the social support explanation?

Answer 3

• both real world and lab based research evidence for the positive effects of social support in a programme to help pregnant teens stop smoking