Resistance to social influence

• What are two explanations of resistance to social influence?

  • social support
  • Locus of control
• What is social support?

  This is the perception of assistance and solidarity available from others
• What is locus of control?

  This is the extent to which individuals believe they can control the events that occur in their lives
• How can social support help people resist conformity?

  Social support through the presence of a dissenter can act as a strong source of defiance. The dissenter doesn’t always have to be saying the right thing, simply the fact that they are not following the majority and instead their own conscience, it gives the perosn confidence to also not conform to majority and follow their own conscience
• What is the limitation of the lasting effects of a dissenter?

  As h found that once the dissenting pots also starts to conform again, so does the naive ppts, thsi the effects of a dissenter is not long lasting
• When is social support most influential?

  Early becaue it increase the chances of rallying others to also resist the majority
• How can social support help people resist obedience?

  The presence of a disobedient model.
• How does a disobedient model reduce obedience levels?

  They reduce the unanimity of the group making it more easier for individuals to act in their own conscience.
• What did milgram find about the presence of a disobedient model?

  Mil gram found that when a disobedient model joined the naive ppt, obedience levels dropped to 10%. It isn’t essential for both to be following the same, just the act of obedience acts as a model and gives the naive ppt confidence to disobey and make descend following their own conscience
• Who proposed the competition of locus of control?

  Julian rotter
• Who are internals?

  These are people who believe that they are largely in control of the things that happen to them and that they have the power to affect the outcome of a situation their in.
• Who are externals?

  These are people who believe they do not have perosnal control over the events that occur in their lives, instead things are controlled by external factors that are out of their control
• People can be placed on a continuum as they aren’t just external or internal
• What does level locus of control suggest about a persons likelihood to resist to social influence?

  If someone has a high internal locus of control they are more likely to resist pressure to conform because they feel accountable for their actions and take personal for it. These people are confident. If someone has a high external lock of control, they are less likely to be able to resist pressure to conform, this is due to them being less confident and feeling the need to seek social approval.
• Research support for link between LOC and resistance to social influence:

  • Holland (1967) repeated Milgrmas baseline study, measuring whether ppts are internals or externals
  • He found that 37% of integrals did not continue on to 450 volts whereas it was only 23% externals.
  • internals showed greater resistance to authority, therefore increasing the validity of LOC explanation
• Outline and evaluate research support for the role of dissenting peers in resisting conformity?

  Allen and Levine repeated Aschs study and found that conformity levels were lower when there was one dissenter present, even if the dissenter even had visual defects

  This supports the view that social support

  can enable people to resist social influence

  and that resistance is not just motivated by

  following what someone says – it is about

  enabling someone to be free from the

  pressure of the group.
• Outline and evaluate research support for resistance to obedience?

  there is research evidnece to support the role of dissenting peers in resisting obedience. Gamson et al found higher levels of resistance in their study than milgram. it was concluded that this was due to the ppts being given the opportunity to communicate with each other and discuss, they found that 88% of pots disobeyed. this supports the idea that social support can lead to higher level of resistance to social influence
• outline and evaluate why contradictory research is a limitation for LOC as an explanation for resistance to social influence?

  Twenge et al found that when analysing data from American LOC studies over 40 years, he found that over time resistance to social influence had increased, however the number of externals had also increased.

  These findings don’t support the idea of LOC and its effects in resistance to social influence and the idea that high internal LOC leads to increased resistance to social influence.
• outline and evaluate why limited role of LOC is a limitation when explaining its role in resistance to social influence?

  Limitation: Limited role of LOC Explanation: Locus of Control (LOC) refers to the extent to which individuals believe they can control events affecting them. When the role of LOC is limited, it may not fully capture the complexity of factors influencing resistance to social influence. This can limit the explanatory power of LOC theory in understanding how individuals respond to social pressures.