Obedience

• Resistance to social influence

  Being able to hold out against the pressure to either conform or obey
• The individual must confront the group or authority figure and remain consistent with their own desired behavior and opinions
• In the Asch study, 25% of participants refused to give a single incorrect response and disagreed with the group on every critical trial
• In the Milgram study, 35% of participants refused to continue to the highest shock level even when under intense pressure to obey
• Resistors to social influence

  • They are interesting to psychologists
  • It's unclear if they have a certain personality that makes them more resistant or if the situation was different they would also give in to the group or authority figure
• Social support


  An individual provides social support by going against or resisting the group or the authority figure
• Social support in Conformity

  The presence of a non-conformist ally breaks the unanimity of the group and provides an alternate group to belong to
• Social support in obedience

  Challenging the legitimacy of the authority figure and showing the consequences of resistance provides a role model for resisting
• Evaluations of social support

  • Milgram's variation with Confederate teachers refusing to continue
  • Asch's unanimity variation with a dissenting Confederate
• Locus of control


  A personality characteristic that influences how much individuals feel they can control the events in their lives
• Internal locus of control

  Individuals believe they have personal control over their lives and are more likely to take responsibility for their actions
• External locus of control

  Individuals see the control of their lives as being due to external factors like fate or luck, and feel less able to make changes
• Locus of control and Conformity

  People with an internal locus of control are more likely to resist group pressure as they believe in their own ability to make correct decisions
• Locus of control and obedience

  People with an internal locus of control are more likely to resist authority figures as they feel better equipped to stand against them and have a drive to refuse orders that don't match their values
• Evaluations of locus of control

  • Holland's replication of Milgram showing 37% of internals refused to continue compared to 23% of externals
  • Specter's research showing a correlation between external locus of control and resistance to normative social influence but not informational social influence
• The relationship between locus of control and resistance to social influence is correlational, and there are other factors that could also influence resistance such as social anxiety, personal morality, and social status