resistance to social influence

• resistance to social pressure:

  • ability of people to withstand social pressure to conform to majority or obey authority
  • influenced by situational + dispositional factors
• social support: conformity

  • dissenter introduced in asch's study = conformity levels dropped
  • correct answer = 36.8% - 5.5%, incorrect answer but majority = 36.8% - 9%
  • majority is no longer unanimous, NSI avoided, pressure reduced
• social support: obedience

  • milgram's variation with rebelling peers - 65% - 10% continued to 450V
  • peers disobedience acts as a model of dissent, challenges legitimacy of authority, pressure reduced
• locus of control:

  • person's perception of personal control over their behaviour
  • proposed by Rotter
• internal locus of control:

  • believe they can control/influence events in their own life
• external locus of control:

  • believe outside factors such as luck or fate influence what happens in their life
• locus of control continuum:

  • people with internal are more able to resist pressures to conform or disobey - higher confidence + achievement
  • take personal responsibility for actions + experiences - make decisions based on own beliefs
  • people with external dont feel they have complete control - far less likely to take responsibility + show independence
• EVALUATION: research support for social support

  • asch's variation with dissenter - 36.8% - 5%, decrease in conformity when confederate gave incorrect but different response
  • milgrams variation with 2 rebelling peers - 10% administered 450V shock
  • provision of social support reduces pressure on participants, easier to have independent behaviour
• EVALUATION: research support for locus of control

  • link between locus of control + resisting pressures to obey
  • howard - repeated milgrams study + measured externals + internals (37% internals didnt continue, 23% externals) - internals showed greater resistance
  • resistance is partly related to locus of control - increases validity of explanation
• EVALUATION: contradictory research (locus of control resisting pressure):

  • twenge et al - analysed us locus of control studies over 40 years - people became more resistant + external
  • surprising outcome - if resistance is linked to locus of control people would be internal
  • locus of control is not a valid explanation of how people resist social influence