resistance to social influence

• resistance to social influence

  • refers to the ability of people to withstand social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority
  • it is influenced by both situational and dispositional factors
• social support

  • The presence of people who resist the pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same. These people act as models to show others that resistance to
  • social influence is possible .E.g in Asch’s research when another participant said an alternative answer to the conformed answer.Asch’s research also showed that if the person starts conforming again,so does the naive participant which shows that effects are not long lasting
  • Social support can also help people to resist obedience .
• locus of control

  Locus of control refers to a person’s perception of personal control over their own behaviour.It is measured on a scale of high internal to high external.
• internal locus of control

  An individual who believes their life is determined by their own decisions and efforts.E.g if you did good in an exam,it is because you worked hard.Take personal responsibility for their actions.High internals actively seek out
• external locus of control

  An individual who believes their life is determined by fate,luck and external factors.High Externals are more likely to be influenced by others.They don’t believe they exercise personal control over their lives.
• continuum

  There is a continuum with high internal LOC on one end and high external LOC on the other end.People may lie anywhere in this continuum e.g low internal LOC,low external LOC.
• internal locus of control

  They can resist pressure from others to conform or obey as they take responsibility for their actions and are more likely to base their decisions off of their own beliefs.They are also seen to be more intelligent so don’t require social approval from others.Their personality traits lead them to have a greater resistance to social influence.
• external locus of control are more likely to conform due to normative social influence, as they tend to seek social approval and are less confident in their own decisions. In contrast, those with an internal locus of control are more independent and less likely to conform
• external

  • feel outcomes are outside of their control