Social support

• Social support – Presence of others resisting pressures to conform or obey these act as models to show that resistance to social influence is possible.
• One strength is research evidence for positive effects of social support. Susan and Albrech et al (2006) evaluated Teen Fresh Start USA, an eight-week programme to help pregnant adolescents aged 14-19 resist peer pressure to smoke. Social support was provided by a slightly older mentor or ‘buddy’. At the end of the programme adolescent who had a ‘buddy’ were significantly less likely to smoke than a control group of participants who did not have a ‘buddy’. This shows that social support can help young people resist social influence as part of an intervention.
• Another strength is research evidence to support the role of dissenting peers in resisting obedience.William Gamson et al (1982) participants were told to produce evidence that would be used to help an oil company run a smear campaign. This is probably because the participants were in groups so could discuss what they were told to do. 29 out of 33 group of participants (88%) rebelled against their orders. This shows that peer support can lead to disobedience by undermining the legitimacy of an authority figure.
• Research that can be used to support that people will resist conformity through social support is Allen and Levine (1968). They replicated Asch’s original study but gave participants an ally who gave a different answer to the confederates but wore really thick glasses to suggest there was a problem with their eyesight. It was found that conformity still decreased even though there was reason to question the ally’s judgement. This supports the fact that the presence of others will aid resistance to social influence, even when the competency of this support is questionable.