Explanations for resistance to social influence

• Resistance to Social Influence -

  • Social Support:
  • ~ Milgram's participants resisted if there were other participants present as they no longer had to take full responsibility for rebelling & not obeying - conformity dropped to 10%.
  • ~ Asch's variation: Unanimity, conformity dropped when unanimity was broken. 5% when confederate also gave the correct answer. Participants displayed independent behaviour with support, no longer fear being ridiculed avoiding NSI.
• Resistance to Social Influence: Locus of Control -

  • Rotter (1966) developed a questionnaire to measure LoC
  • control over you own behaviour.
  • Internal = life is determined by your choices, you're responsible & accountable. Resist social influence, less likely to conform/obey.
  • External = fate, luck, external factors. More likely to conform/obey.
• AO3 LoC -

  • RS Oliner & Oliner interviewed non-Jewish survivors & compared those who resisted & protected Jews from the Nazi's compared to those who didn't and obeyed the Nazi regime. The '406 rescuers' were more likely to have a high internal LoC.
• • locus of control – people with an internal locus of control are more likely to resist pressure to conform/less likely to obey/more resistant to social influence than those with an external locus of control; people with an internal locus of control believe they control own circumstances
  • social support – defiance/non-conformity more likely if others are seen to resist influence; seeing others disobey/not conform gives observer confidence to do so.