Resistance to Social Influence - LOC and Social Support

• What is Social Support?

  It influences people to obey or not obey. The presence of another dissenter in a situation allows people to feel confident / less pressured to obey or conform in the group
• Who proposed Lotus of Control?

  Rotter 1966
• What did Rotter say Locus of Control is?


  Construct part of our personality and describes the extent an individual feels in control of what happens to them and the extent they let it affect their life.
• What are the 2 types of Locus of Control?

  • Internal Locus Control
  • External Locus Control
• What does it mean to have an Internal Locus Control?

  Someone who believes they are in control of what happens to them.
• Characteristics of someone with an Internal LOC?

  • Better able to resist pressures.
  • More confident.
  • Less likely to conform.
  • Less likely to obey due to no need for social approval
• What does it mean to have an External Locus of Control?

  Those with External LOC feel that others are in charge of their behaviour.

  • They believe what happens to them is luck or fate and they are not in control of their lives.
• Characteristics of someone with an External LOC?

  • Less self control
  • Blame religion for life problems
• Research Support - Allen and Levine

  Allen and Levine 1971 - Resistance is not motivated by following what someone else says but it enables someone to be free of the pressure from the group.

  Allen and Levine 1971

  FINDINGS

  • Incompetent Disenter: Conformity dropped from 97% to 64%.

  The absence of group unanimity lowers overall conformity because participants feel less need for social approval (NSI)
• Research Support - HOLLAND

  They repeated Milgram's study and measured whether participants had an internal locus of control or external.

  FINDINGS

  • 37% of internal did not continue to highest shock. (INDEPENDENCE)
  • 23% of external did not continue

  Internals showed greater resistance, it support ad increases the validity of LOC explanation and our confidence in its resistance explanation.
• EVALUATION OF RESISTANCE TO SOCIAL CONTROL.

  Large body of Supporting Evidence

  Credible, can be more certain that these factories influence resistance to conformity
• EVALUATION of Resistance to Social Control

  REDUCTIONIST

  Reduces behaviour to internal processes; good because it allows deeper insight into behaviour away from external pressures as it shows why not everyone obeys.

  • However, reducing it could place blame on ppnts or ignore how dispositional factors play a role in obedience.
  • E.g. in hollands study the difference between externals and internals choosing not to
• EVALUATION into LOC

  The role of LOC may be exaggerated

  Rotter found LOC is only important in new situations.

  • It has little influence in familiar situations where previous experiences were important.
  • Suggests that LOC can explain only a limited range of situation where there is resistance.

  Limits its important as a factor in resistance to social control.