A03

• What are the strengths of social support?

  1. Research support
• What are the limitations of social support?

  1. Source of support requires credibility
• What are the strengths of locus of control?

  1. Research support
• What are the limitations of locus of control?

  1. Contradictory evidence
  2. Limited application
• Strength (social support) = research support

  • Rees and Wallace (2015) found that individuals with a majority of friends who drank alcohol were significantly more likely to have engaged in drunkenness and binge drinking over the previous 12 months
  • They also found individuals were able to resist pressures to drink alcohol when they had a friend or two who also resisted (links to conformity)
  • Gamson et al. (1982) found higher levels of resistance to obedience than Milgram because his participants were in groups and so were exposed to others disobeying which gave them social support to do the same – 88% of participants rebelled against authority (links to obedience)
• Limitation (social support) = source of support requires credibility

  • Allen and Levine (1971) showed that social support can help with resistance to the influence of a group
  • In an Asch-type task when the dissenter was someone with apparently good eyesight, 64% of participants resisted conformity and when there was no social support only 3% resisted
  • However the study also showed that social support will only help with resistance if the source seems credible - when the dissenter had obviously poor eyesight (thick glasses) resistance was only 36%
• Strength (LOC) - research support

  • Holland (1967) repeated Milgram’s baseline study and measured whether participants had internal or external locus of control
  • Found that people who were classified as ‘internals’ were more likely to disobey compared to people classified as ‘externals’
  • Demonstrates that people with an internal LOC are more resistant to authority
• Limitation (LOC) - contradictory evidence

  • Twenge et al. (2004) analysed data from American locus of control studies over a 40 year period
  • Found that over time people have become more resistant to obedience but also more external
  • If resistance was linked to internal locus of control we would expect people to have become more internal
  • Challenges the link between internal LOC and increasing resistant behaviour
• Limitation (LOC) = limited application

  • Rotter (1982) argued that LOC only plays a role in new situations and has very little influence over our behaviour in familiar situations where our previous experiences and established schemas are more likely to influence our resistance to social pressures
  • E.g. if people have conformed or obeyed in a specific situation in the past, they are likely to do so again, even if they have a high internal LOC