RESISTANCE TO SOCIAL INFLUENCE

• SOCIAL SUPPORT


  Resisting to conformity (Dissenting peer) = 

  Pressure to conform is reduced if other people are not conforming. 

  ASCH’S research showed that the dissenter doesn’t have have to give the ‘right’ answer. 

  Simply someone else not following the majority frees others to follow their own conscience. The dissenter acts as a ‘model’.

  The dissenter shows the majority is no longer unanimous. 
• SOCIAL SUPPORT 


  Resisting obedience (obedience is reduced by one other dissenting partner) = 

  Pressure to obey can be reduced if another person is seen to disobey. 

  MILGRAM’S research - obedient behaviour greatly decreased in the disobedient peer condition (from 65% to 10%).

  The participant may not follow the disobedient peer but the dissenter’s disobedience frees the participant to act from their own conscience. 

  The disobedient model challenges the legitimacy of the authority figure. 
• 1. LOCUS OF CONTROL (LOC)


  Internals place control with themselves / externals place control outside themselves =

  ROTTER (1966) described internal vs external LOC.

  • Internals believe things that happen to them are largely controlled by themselves (E.G doing well or badly in an exam depends on how hard you work)
  • Externals believe things happen outside of their control. If they fail an exam they say it was because they had a bad teacher or had bad luck because the questions were hard. 
• LOC


  There is continuum =

  LOC is not just being internal or external - there is a scale from one to the other and people differ in their position on it. 

  High internals at one end and high externals at the other, low internals and low externals lie in between. 
• LOC


  Internals show greater resistance to social influence =

  People with internal LOC are more likely to resist pressures to conform or obey. 

  • If someone takes personal responsibility for their actions (good or bad) they are more likely to base their decisions on their own beliefs. 
  • People with high internal LOC are more confident, more achievement oriented and have higher intelligence - traits that lead to greater resistance (also traits of leaders, who have less need for social approval)