social influence - resistance

Question 1

Outline the social support explanation of resistance to social influence

Answer 1

People may resist pressures to conform or obey if they have support from a dissenter (someone who disagrees with the majority or refuses to obey). This frees the individual from the pressure to conform or obey, allowing them to act independently. This was demonstrated in the Asch study investigating the unanimity of the majority

Question 2

Outline the locus of control explanation of resistance to social influence

Answer 2

• Proposed by Rotter, this is the concept of how much a person believes they control what happens in their lives, and can be measured on a scale from high internal to high external.
• ‘Internals’ believe they have a great deal of control over their lives, and attribute their successes and failures to themselves personally (for example, ‘I failed the exam because I didn’t work hard enough’).
• Internals are more likely to resist influence and demonstrate independent behaviour, as they are less likely to follow the crowd or blindly follow an order they think is wrong.
• ‘Externals’ feel that many things which happen are outside of their control, and attribute successes and failures to luck, fate, or other outside circumstances (for example, ‘I failed the exam because there were unfair questions on the paper’).
• Externals are less likely to resist influence, as they are less likely to take personal responsibility for their behaviour and have more need for social approval.

Question 3

Evaluate the social support explanation of social influence - dissenter

Answer 3

Allen and Levine (1971) found that introducing a dissenter in an Asch-style study greatly reduced conformity levels, even if the dissenter wore thick glasses and claimed they had poor eyesight, supporting that having social support increases resistance to social influence.

Question 4

Evaluate the locus of control explanation of social influence - Holland

Answer 4

Holland (1967) found that 37% of ‘internals’ refused to obey to the maximum shock level in a Milgram-type study, compared to 23% of ‘externals’, showing a link between locus of control and resistance to obedience.

Question 5

Evaluate the locus of control explanation of social influence - Americans

Answer 5

Twenge et al (2004) found that over time, Americans have become more resistant to obedience, but have also become more external in their locus of control. This weakens the suggestion that having an internal locus of control leads to resistance to social influence.