resistance to social influence

• Locus of control


  The extent to which people believe they have control over their own lives
• Internal locus of control

  Belief that what happens in their life is largely the result of their own behaviour and that they have control over their life
• External locus of control

  Belief that what happens to them is controlled by external factors and that they do not have complete control over their life
• Individuals with an internal locus of control


  More independent and find it easier to resist pressure to conform or obey
• Individuals with an external locus of control


  More likely to succumb to pressure to conform or obey and are less likely to show independent behaviour
• Research on locus of control and conformity

  • Individuals with a high internal locus of control were less likely to conform than those with a high external locus of control, but only in situations of normative social influence (desire to fit in), not informational social influence (desire to be right)
• Research on locus of control and resistance to obedience

  • Individuals who resisted orders and protected Jewish people from the Nazis were more likely to have a high internal locus of control, compared to those who simply followed orders
• Not all research supports the link between locus of control and resistance to social influence
• Over time, people have become more external in their locus of control but also more resistant to obedience, which is incongruent to Rotter's original suggestions
• The locus of control explanation of resistance to social influence uses a nomothetic approach to establish general laws of behaviour
• Social support can increase resistance to social influence

  • A dissenter gave a different answer from the rest of the confederates and agreed with the naive participant
• Social support


  When someone provides support to resist social influence
• When in a large group of friends, it is very easy for an individual to simply go along with their views, even if they don't agree privately
• Sometimes people are able to resist the pressure to conform
• Weter's locus of control

  External - believes it is luck whether he will be selected as a prefect and feels there is nothing he can do to influence the process
• Locus of control as an explanation of resistance to social influence

  Individuals with an internal locus of control are more likely to resist social influence
• Rotter used a questionnaire to measure locus of control
• Some people might resist pressures to conform due to factors like social support and locus of control
• Explanations of resistance to social influence include factors like social support and locus of control
• Internal locus of control

  Interpreting events as being under one's own control