Resistance to Social Influence

• Resistance to social influence

  • ability for people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority
• social support

  • people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same
  • act as models to show others that social resistance to social influence is possible
• Resisting Conformity

  • Asch found that social support increased resistance to social influence
  • participants had no support conformity was 32%
  • one supporter conformity was 5%
  • confederate acts as a model of independent behaviour
  • naive participant free to follow their own conscience
• Resisting Obedience

  • when participant joined by disobedient confederate in Milgrim’s study obedience dropped from 65% to 10%
  • the disobedient model challenges the legitimacy of the authority figure making it easier to disobey
• Social Support - Real World research support

  Susan Albrecht et al (2006)

  • evaluated Teen fresh start USA, an eight week programme to help pregnant adolescents (14-19) resist social pressure to smoke
  • social support provided by older mentor
  • adolescents who had a ‘buddy’ were less likely to smoke
• Social Support - Research support for dissenting peers

  William Gamson et al (1982)

  • participants had to produce evidence that would be used to help an oil company run a smear campaign
  • higher level of resistance in their study than Milgrim found- participants were in groups so could discuss what they were told to do
  • 88% participants rebelled against their orders
  • peer support can lead to disobedience by undermining legitimacy of authority figure
• Social Support - Real World Application

  • 1943 - German women protested where 2000 Jewish men were held
  • most married to non-Jewish partners / children of mixed marriage
  • women refused to leave until husbands/ sons released
  • presence of others helped them protest - men released
• Locus of Control

  • internals (internal locus of control) - believe they are mostly responsible for what happens to them
  • externals (external locus of control) -matter of luck or other outside forces
• Locus of Control Continuum

  • scale that people vary on - internal to external
• locus of control - resistance to social influence

  • high internal LOC more able to resist pressures to conform or obey - base decisions on their own beliefs
  • tend to be more self-confident and higher intelligence - less need for social approval
• Locus of Control - Research Support

  • link between LOC and resistance to obedience

  Charles Holland (1967)

  • repeated Milgrim’s study and measured if participants were internals or externals
  • 37% internals didn’t continue to highest shock levels
  • 23% externals didn’t continue
  • internals showed greater resistance
• Locus of Control - Contradictory Evidence

  • challenges link between LOC and resistance

  Jean Twenge et al (2004)

  • analysed data from American LOC studies over a 40 year period
  • over time span people became more resistant to obedience and more external
  • if resistance is linked to internal locus of control more people should be internal
• Locus of Control - Limited role

  Rotter (1982)

  • LOC is not the most important factor in determining whether some resists social influence
  • LOC only affects behaviour in new situations
  • if you’ve obeyed or conformed in a specific situation in the past chance are you will again