resistance to social influence

• what is resistance to social influence?

  The ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority.
• what is social support?

  The presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey who act as models.
• what does dissent mean?

  to disagree with or oppose an opinion.
• how does social support encourage others to resist social influence?

  they model independent behaviour and break unanimity of the majority.
• what is locus of control?

  The extent to which individuals believe how much control they have over their lives.
• who created locus of control?


  Julian Rotter 1966
• what are the two ends of the LOc continuum?

  internal and external.
• what does internal mean in LOC?


  things that happen are largely self controlled.
• what does external mean in the LOC continuum?

  things that happen are outside of our control.
• what is the relationship between your position on LOC and ability to resist social influence?

  people with a high internal LOC are more able to resist pressure to conform/obey as they base their decisions off their own beliefs rather than others. they tend to be more intelligent, confident, and achievement orientated which leads to greater resistance to social influence.
• What are the strengths of resistance to social influence?

  One strength for research into resistance of social influence is the practical applications and evidence to support this. Teen Fresh Start USA is a program to help pregnant adolescents resist peer pressure to smoke, this is done by adding social support in the form of a mentor. After 8 weeks it was shown that teenagers who had buddies were significantly less likely to smoke than a control group who didn't. This supports the concept for social support increasing the ability to resist conformity. Furthermore in one variation of milgrams study, obedience rates to shock to the full 450V dropped from 65% - 10% when an 2 undercover confederate joined the participant and disobeyed the experimenters orders. This is a strength because it shows that social support is important in bringing about independent behaviour and reducing social influence.In 1967 Holland repeated milgrams experiment and measured weather the participants were further towards external or internal on the locus of control continuum. It was found that 37% of internals and 23% of externals did not shock to the full 450V, suggesting that resistance to social influence is at least somewhat influenced by locus of control.
• What are the weaknesses of resistance to social influence?

  one criticism for the theory of resistance to social influence is contradictory evidence. One example is Twenge (2004) who analysed 40 years of data from American LOC studies and found that over time people have become more resistant to social influence but more external. This suggests LOC is not a comprehensive explanation of resistance to conformity and obedience.
• what is resistance to social influence?

  The ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority.
• what is social support?

  The presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey who act as models.
• what does dissent mean?

  to disagree with or oppose an opinion.
• how does social support encourage others to resist social influence?

  they model independent behaviour and break unanimity of the majority.
• what is locus of control?

  The extent to which individuals believe how much control they have over their lives.
• who created locus of control?


  Julian Rotter 1966
• what are the two ends of the LOc continuum?

  internal and external.
• what does internal mean in LOC?


  things that happen are largely self controlled.
• what does external mean in the LOC continuum?

  things that happen are outside of our control.
• what is the relationship between your position on LOC and ability to resist social influence?

  people with a high internal LOC are more able to resist pressure to conform/obey as they base their decisions off their own beliefs rather than others. they tend to be more intelligent, confident, and achievement orientated which leads to greater resistance to social influence.
• What are the strengths of resistance to social influence?

  One strength for research into resistance of social influence is the practical applications and evidence to support this. Teen Fresh Start USA is a program to help pregnant adolescents resist peer pressure to smoke, this is done by adding social support in the form of a mentor. After 8 weeks it was shown that teenagers who had buddies were significantly less likely to smoke than a control group who didn't. This supports the concept for social support increasing the ability to resist conformity. Furthermore in one variation of milgrams study, obedience rates to shock to the full 450V dropped from 65% - 10% when an 2 undercover confederate joined the participant and disobeyed the experimenters orders. This is a strength because it shows that social support is important in bringing about independent behaviour and reducing social influence.In 1967 Holland repeated milgrams experiment and measured weather the participants were further towards external or internal on the locus of control continuum. It was found that 37% of internals and 23% of externals did not shock to the full 450V, suggesting that resistance to social influence is at least somewhat influenced by locus of control.
• What are the weaknesses of resistance to social influence?

  one criticism for the theory of resistance to social influence is contradictory evidence. One example is Twenge (2004) who analysed 40 years of data from American LOC studies and found that over time people have become more resistant to social influence but more external. This suggests LOC is not a comprehensive explanation of resistance to conformity and obedience.