resistance to social influence

• resistance to social influence...


  is the ability of people to withstand social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority
• the two things that lead to resistance are...

  social support

  locus of control
• what is social support?


  the presence of people who resist pressures to conform/obey can help others do the same, by acting as a model to show others that it's possible
• conformity is reduced...


  by a dissenting peer - the effect is not long-lasting
• obedience is reduced...


  by one other dissenting partner - the dissenter's disobedience frees the participant to act in their own conscience
• what resistance to conformity occurred in asch's study?


  with a dissenter, conformity decreased to 5.5%
• what resistance occurred in milgram's study?


  when the participant was joined by a disobedient confederate, obedience dropped from 65% to 10%
• what does social support do to the position of the majority?


  breaks the unanimous position of the majority - makes people more confident to resist if they can find an ally willing to join them
• allen and levine (1971)...


  completed an "asch-like" study - independence increased with one dissenter, even if the dissenter complained of having vision problems and wore thick glasses
• what did allen and levine's study demonstrate about resistance?

  it's motivated by being able to be free from the pressure of the group, not by following what somebody else is doing
• gamson et al (1982)...


  found higher levels of resistance in their study then milgram's - participants were in groups

  29/33 groups rebelled when asked to produce a "smear campaign" for an oil company
• what did gamson et al's study demonstrate about resistance?


  that peer support is linked to greater resistance
• internal locus of control...


  takes more responsibility for their actions
• what leads to those having an internal locus of control being able to resist pressure to social influence?


  more self-confidence

  higher intelligence

  less need for social approval
• external locus of control...


  blames other factors for their actions/doesn't take responsability
• holland (1967)...


  repeated milgram's study, testing participants for their locus of control first - 37% of internals did not continue to the hightest voltage, whereas only 23% of external's didn't

  internals showed greater resitstance - supports locus of control explanation for obedience
• twenge et al (2004)...


  analysed data from american obedience studies between 1960 and 2002 - found that over the years people had become more obedient, but also more external

  disproved locus of control as a theory for resistance - people should be more likely to have an internal locus if they are becoming more obedient

  due to an increasingly uncontrollable society
• rotter et al (1982)... 


  believed that the role of LOC may be exaggerated - locus of control is only beneficial in new situations and has little influence over familiar situations where previous experiences are important

  internal locus of control can only be the explanation for a handful of situations