Social influence - resistance Flashcards
what are the two reasons for resistance to social influence?
social support and locus of control
resistance
the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or obey authority
what is support of social support from Asch’s study?
conformity dropped from 37% to 6% when a confederate gave a different answer to the rest of the group. social support breaks the unanimity
what is support of social support from Milgram’s study?
obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the teacher was joined by a disobedient confederate. people are more confident if they can find an ally
what is research support of social support in resistance to conformity?
1971 - the dissenter in Asch’s experiment even when wearing thick glasses and saying he has issues with his vision. showing its not what someone says but it just relieves peer pressure
what is research support of social support in resistance to obedience?
1982 obedience study but with people in groups. 88% rebelled and refused to help an oil company run a smear campaign.
locus of control
the sense we have about what directs events in our lives
who proposed the locus of control?
Rotter (1966)
internal LOC
mostly responsible for what happens to them
external LOC
things happen without their control
what affect does LOC have on resistance?
internal LOC = more likely to resist. they take responsibility for their actions so follow their own beliefs.
what is research support of locus of control in resistance to obedience?
1967 repeated Milgram’s experiment and measure if pts were internals or externals. 37% of internals did not go to highest shock. 77% of externals continued to highest shock
evaluation of social support as an explanation for resistance
+ supported by dissenter wearing thick glasses still enabling pts to resist social influence
+ 88% groups rebelling after being told to make smear campaign for oil company. (peer support = more resistance)
strengths of locus of control as an explanation for resistance
+ repeat of Milgram’s study showed the link between internals resisting more then externals.
+ 1998 interviewed non-Jewish survivors of WW2. 406 who protected Jewish people = internal LOC. 126 who followed orders = external LOC
limitations of locus of control as an explanation for resistance
- Rotter (1982) suggested that LOC only plays an important role in unfamiliar situations. past experience drives behaviour in familiar situations. link between LOC and resistance isn’t as strong as some initially believed
- Twinge et al studied obedience studies from 40 year time span in America. Increase in resistance but also increase in external LOCs so the link is unclear.
