AO1

• Resistance to Social influence refers to

  -the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority.

  -affected by both situational and dispositional
• The dispositional factor is

  -Locus of control
• the situational factor

  -social support
• Locus of control refers to the way

  -in which people differ in their beliefs about whether the outcomes of their actions are dependent on what they do themselves or on events outside of their personal control "i control my destiny"

  -It is measured along a dimension of 'high internal' to 'high external'.
• Having an internal locus of control

  -An individual who believes their life is determined by their own decisions and efforts,​

  -They believe life is within their control.
• Having an external locus of control

  -An individual who believes their life is determined by fate, luck and external factors. ​

  -They believe life is beyond their control.
• People who have an internal LOC are more likely to 


  -to resist pressure to conform or obey/SI.
• If a person takes responsibility for their own actions

  -they are more likely to base their decisions on their own beliefs.

  -also tend to be more self-confident (less need for social approval) and have higher intelligence (less likely to look to others to inform behaviour).
• Outline how social support affect resistance to SI

  -The presence of people who resist pressures to conform/obey can help others to do the same.​

  -These people act as models and show others that resistance to social influence is possible.
• The pressure to conform can be resisted if

  -there are other people present who are not conforming. ​​

  -Someone else who is not following the majority provides social support and enables an individual to be free to follow their own conscience.

  -This social support breaks the unanimity of the majority
• The pressure to obey can be resisted if

  -there is another person who is seen to disobey.

  -​The disobedient person acts as a ‘model’ of dissent to be copied and frees an individual to act from their own conscience.

  -disobedient model challenges legitimacy of authority figure making it easier to disobey