resistance to social influence

• name the two explanations for social resistance

  locus of control

  social support
• what is meant by resistance to social influence?

  the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform or be obedient --> influenced by situational and dispositional factors
• explain what is meant by social support in terms of resistance to social influence

  the presence of people who resist pressures to conform / obey can help others to do the same - the dissenter acts as a model to show other social resistance is possible
• how can social support lead to someone resisting conformity?

  (use Asch as an example)

  < the pressure to conform can be resisted if there are other people present to not conform

  < eg. in Asch's experiment, when the confederate wasn't conforming, it enabled the naive participant to be free to follow their own conscience

  --> the confederate acts as a model of independent behaviour and their dissent gives way to more dissent because it shows the majority is no longer unanimous
• how can social support lead to someone resisting obedience?

  (use Milgram's variation as an example)

  < the pressure to obey can be resisted if there is another person seen to disobey

  < in one of Milgram's variations, the rate of obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the genuine participant was joined by a disobedient confederate

  --> the confederate acts as a model of dissent for the participant to follow and the disobedient model challenges the legitimacy of the authority figure, making it easier for others to disobey
• name one strength of social support as an explanation for resistance to social influence

  REAL WORLD RESEARCH SUPPORT

  - research evidence for the positive effects of social support

  - 2006 study evaluated an 8 week programme to help pregnant adolescents (14-19) resist peer pressure to not smoke - social support was provided by a slightly older 'buddy' --> at the end of the programme, adolescents who had a buddy were significantly less likely to smoke than a control group who didn't have a buddy

  - shows how social support can help young people resist social influence to conform
• explain what is meant by locus of control in terms of resistance to social influence

  refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives
• what does someone who has an internal locus of control believe?

  that they are mostly responsible for what happens to them
• what does someone who had an external locus of control believe?

  it is mainly a matter of luck or other outside forces that are responsible for what happens to them
• outline locus of control as an explanation for resistance to social influence

  locus of control - refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives

  
  

  - people with a high internal locus of control are more able to resist pressures to conform / obey, if someone takes personal responsibility for their action, they tend to base their decisions on personal beliefs rather than depending on the opinions of others

  - people with a high internal locus of control tend to be more self confident
• name one strength of locus of control as an explanation for resistance to social influence

  RESEARCH SUPPORT:

  < research evidence to support the link between LoC + resistance to obedience

  < 1967 replication of Milgram's baseline procedure + measured if people were internals or externals --> found 37% of internals didn't continue to 450V compared with 23% of externals

  < shows that resistance is at least partly related to LoC, which increases the validity of LoC as an explanation of disobedience
• name one limitation of locus of control as an explanation for resistance to social influence

  CONTRADICTORY RESEARCH:

  > evidence that challenges the link between LoC and resistance

  > 2004 study analysed data from American LoC studies and found that over the 40yr period people became more resistant to obedience but more external

  > suggests locus of control is not a valid explanaiton of how people resist social influence