psychology pape 1

• Background


  - Some individuals resist social influence and maintain independent behaviour

  - Psychologists have put together a number of explanations of resistance to social influence including social support and locus of control.
• Social support


  Social support is when an individual feels they have assistance available from others.
• Social support and resisting conformity


  - It has been demonstrated that we are more likely to resist the pressure to conform if we have social support

  - Asch (1956) found that when the real participant was given the support of a confederate who had been instructed to give the correct answer throughout (a lone dissenter) the conformity rates fell significantly

  - Asch also found that when the lone dissenter gave an answer that was not correct or similar to the majority, conformity rates fell significantly to 9%

  - In both these variations, the dissenter is a form of social support

  - In the second variation, the dissenter broke the unanimous position of the majority which encouraged the participant to give the correct answer
• Social support and resisting conformity (evaluation)one strength


  Strength

  There is further evidence to support the suggestion that social support can cause individuals to resist the pressure to conform. Allen & Levine (1971) replicated Asch's research but used three conditions.

  Condition 1 - the real participant had no social support

  Condition 2 - the real participant had social support from a confederate with poor vision, indicated by the glasses with very thick lenses that he wore.

  Given that this was a test of visual discrimination, this confederate provided invalid social support. In condition 3, the real participant had social support from a confederate with normal vision, therefore valid social support. They found that the amount of conformity was reduced in both condition 2 and 3. This suggests that social support can be helpful in resisting conformity, even if the support given is perceived as invalid.
• Social support and resisting obedience


  - It has been demonstrated that we are more likely to resist the pressure to obey if we have social support

  - Milgram (1963) conducted a variation on his original procedure where three participants shared the role as being the teacher. One was the real participant and the other two were confederates (bogus teachers). The two bogus teachers refused to continue with the experiment. Milgram found that the obedience rate fell significantly to 10%. This led Milgram to conclude that individuals are more likely to resist the pressure to obey if they can find an ally who is willing to join them in opposing the authority figure.
• Social support and resisting obedience (evaluation)one strength

  There is further evidence to support the suggestion that social support can cause individuals to resist the pressure to obey. Mullen et al (1990) found that when disobedient models broke the law by jay-walking, participants were more likely to jay-walk themselves. This supports the suggestion that disobedient models increase resistance to social influence.
• Locus of control


  - Locus of control (LoC) is an aspect of personality

  - It refers to an individual's perception of personal control over their own behaviour

  - It is measured along a continuum from high internal to high external
• High internal


  Individuals high in internality

  - Perceive themselves as having a great deal of control over their own behaviour

  - Believe their behaviour is caused primarily by their own efforts, abilities and decisions

  - Are more likely to take responsibility for their actions

  - They are therefore more able to resist social influence
• High external


  Individuals high in externality

  - Perceive their behaviour as being controlled by external influences

  - Believe their behaviour is caused primarily by fate or luck

  - Are less likely to take responsibility for their actions

  - They are therefore less able to resist social influence
• Locus of control and resisting conformity


  - It has been demonstrated that individuals with a high internal locus of control are more able to resist the pressure to conform

  - Shute (1975) exposed undergraduates to peers who expressed either conservative or liberal attitudes to drug taking

  - It was found that undergraduates with a high internal LoC conformed less to expressing pro- drug attitudes

  - This demonstrates that having a high internal LoC increases resistance to conformity
• Locus of control and resisting conformity (evaluation) strength

  There is further evidence to support the link between locus of control and resistance to conformity. For example, Moghaddam (1998) found that Japanese individuals are more susceptible to conformity than American individuals. Japanese individuals also have more external LoC than American individuals. This supports the suggestion that individuals with a high external LoC are less able to resist the pressure to conform. It also suggests that differences in resistance to conformity across cultures can be explained by differences in LoC.
• Locus of control and resisting obedience


  - It has been demonstrated that individuals with a high internal LoC are more able to resist the pressure to obey

  - Schurz (1985) used a procedure modelled on Milgram's procedure

  - Participants acted as teachers and were instructed to apply increasingly painful ultrasound simulation to a learner by pressing a switch

  - There were 20 switches

  - It was found that 80% of participants used all 20 switches

  - The 20% of participants who did not use all 20 switches tended to take more responsibility for their actions, and therefore showed characteristics of a high internal LoC

  - This demonstrates that having a high internal LoC increases resistance to obedience
• Locus of control and resisting obedience (evaluation) weakness

  weakness

  - Not all evidence supports the link between LoC and resistance to obedience. For example, Twenge et al (2004) analysed data from American obedience studies over a 40-year period. The data showed that over time people have become more resistant to obedience. However, people have also become external. If resistance were linked to an internal locus of control, we would expect people to have become more internal. This research challenges the link between internal LoC and resistant behaviour.