resistance to social influence

    Cards (13)

    • what does resistance to social influence mean
      the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to majority or obey authority. this ability to withstand social pressure is influenced by situational and dispositional factors
    • what does social support mean
      the presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help other people to do the same. these people acta s models to show others that resistance to social influence is possible
    • what does locus of control mean (LOC)
      refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives. internals believe they are mostly responsible for what happens to them (internal locus of control). externals believe it is mainly a matter of luck or other outside forces (external locus of control).
    • sometimes we are able to resist the effects of social influence. what are two ways in which this can occur?
      • social support
      • locus of control
    • the pressure to conform can be resisted if there are other people present who are not conforming. what example backs this up?
      in the variation of Aschs experiment where one confederate gave the wrong answer to the rest- conformity decreased from 37% to 16% as the fact that the confederates were no longer unanimous gave the naive participant confidence to be free and follow their conscience. the confederate acts as a model of independent behavior.
    • in the example about Asch, why does that one rebel have a disproportionate influence (greater) over naive participant?
      what does this tell us about the type of conformity the naive participant was already displaying?
      • ISI- they think they have superior knowledge
      • compliance
    • conformity can also be reduced when the dissenter (goes against crowd) doesn't appear very competent. what example backs this up? what does this show?
      • in Allen and Levines 1971 study conformity dropped on a visual task even when the partner had thick glasses and admitted to sight problems.
      • this shows that resistance to social influence isn't just about following what someone else says, but enables someone to be free from the pressures of the group.
    • the pressure to obey can also be resisted if there is another person who is seen to disobey. what evidence is there for this?
      in one of mailgrams variations, the rate of obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the genuine participant was joined by a disobedient confederate. this persons disobedient behavior acts as a model of dissert for the participant to copy which frees him to act from his own conscience. the disobedient model challenges legitimacy of authority making it easier for others to disobey.
    • who proposed the locus of control (LOC)
      Julian Rotter 1966
    • what is an example of external LOC?
      what is an example of internal LOC?
      • if you do well in an exam is is because you worked hard, if you failed its because you didn't work hard enough.
      • if you do well in an exam its because you used a good textbook, if you failed it it might be because of the textbook or bad luck because the questions were hard
    • what is the LOC continuum?
      states that people are not just either internal or external and that LOC is and individuals vary in their position on it.
    • how does LOC link with resistance to social influence
      people with a high internal LOC are more able to resist pressures to conform or obey. this is because internals take responsibility for their actions so they tend to base their decisions on own beliefs rather than depending on others opinions. another explanation is that internals tend to be more self confidant, more achievement oriented and have higher intelligence which are all traits that lead to greater SI as they are traits of a leader who needs much less social approval.
    • one supporting study for LOC?
      one opposing study for LOC?
      • Blass 1991 found that those with internal LOC were more able to resist obedience than externals. internals were extra resistant if they thought that the researcher was trying to manipulate them to obey.
      • Twenge et al 2004 analysed data from American locus of control studies conducted over a 40 yr period. data showed that people became more resistant to obedience but also more external- goes against what we would expect, shows LOC is not valid explanations of how people resist SI.