resistance to social influenc

• What is resistance to social influence?

  The ability to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or obey authority (influenced by situational and dispositional factors)
• What Is Social support?

  The presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey and can become role models for others
• What is Locus of control?

  The sense we have about what directs events in our lives. Internal locus of control people believe they are responsible for what happens to them. While external locus of control people think things like luck and fate is responsible for what happens in their lives
• Why does having social support reduce conformity?

  Reduces pressures of NSI, less fear of rejection from majority as one or more person is showing similar behaviour or attitudes as them. Also reduces ISI pressures, allows someone to question the extent to which the MRG is correct and gives them confidence, social impact theory can impact the size of the MRG Population in relation to that individual
• Evaluation of resistance to social influence(conformity)

  Research support supporting resistance to social influence (conformity)

  Asch's study of unambiguous line matching study found: average conformity to majority fell to 5.5% from 36.8% when there was an ally who gave a correct answer. He also found that it dropped to 9% if ally gave the wrong answer but was different to majority

  This suggest social support is important as it reduces conformity in any kind of situation
• Evaluation of resistance to social influence (conformity)

  only 3% of Allen and Levine's 1971 participants resisted conformity when there was no supporter. but 64% resisted when a dissenter refused to conform. however, on 36% resisted conformity when the supporter wore thick glasses and stated that he had bad eye sight and could not be relied on to judge the lines. this shows the explanation is valid because we would expect less resistance when participants believed social support was not helpful.
• social support - resisting obedience

  obedience is reduced by one other dissenting partner. pressure 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 disobedient peer frees the participant to act from their own conscience.

  a disobedient model challenges the legitimacy of an authority figure
• Evaluation of resistance to social influence (obedience)

  There is research support for social support as a factor that it's important in enabling resistance to obedience

  In milgrams study 'two peers rebel' experiment where ppt is paired with two confederates who refuse to continue to shock learner, obedience falls from 65% to 10%
• Implications-social support-resistant to conformity

  Bullying-Fekks et al found that in the majority of cases bystanders do nothing which enables bullying to continue. However Hawkings et al found that social support from peers was effective at stopping bullying, more so than family support

  Their research can have implications for teaching practises and interventions in their relevant institutions

  Also there are military implications as such findings are used in discussions of military ethics
• Real world example of implications(obedience)

  Rosenstrasse protest

  Supports the research findings of ecological validity

  1943 group of Ger women protested at rossenstrasse in Berlin where gestapo held 200 Jewish men most married to non Jewish partners

  Women faced gestapo until the prisoners were eventually freed. Shows that disobedient peers gave others confidence and courage to resist LAF
• Locus of control-resistance to social influence(obedience and conformity)

  Measures with rotter scale and given scores which determine if an individual's position in the continuum-ppts are given a choice of two statements and they must indicate which they think is true

  This method is perceptible to social desirability bias-ppts may change their answers to be preconceived more positively which impacts validity

  
  

  Rotter described LoC as a dispositional factor relevant to resistance. LoC is the extent to which an individual feels responsible for their own behaviour and outcomes

  
  

  Strong internal LoC- people feel like they are responsible for their own actions

  Strong External LoC-where someone doesn't feel in control of their lives, they feel external factors are important in determining what happens to them
• Research support for LoC

  Avtgis-1998 carried out a meta-analysis of studies in the relationship between LoC and other types of social influence e.g. Conformity

  Shows a significant +be correlation for the relationship between scores of internalality/externality and scores on measures of persuasion, social influence and conformity. The analysis showed that individuals who scored higher on external LoC tend to be more easily persuaded, more easily influenced and more conforming than those who score as internal
• Research support for LoC#2

  Oliner and Oliner 1988 interviewed two groups of non Jewish people who lived in nazi Germany. They compared 406 people who protected and rescued the Jews and 126 who hadn't

  
  

  They found that the group who rescued the Jews scored higher on social responsibility and had scores demonstrating an internal LoC
• Research support for LoC #3

  LoC is linked to NSI and not ISI

  Spector (1993) measured LoC and predisposition to NSI and ISI in 157 undergraduates

  
  

  He found a significant correlation between LoC and predisposition to NSI, with externals more likely to conform to this from of influence . However found no such relationship for predisposition to ISI with LoC not appearing to be a significant factor in this kind of conformity
• What is a questionnaire, what kind of questions does it use?

  Involves a series of questions and they could be closed or open

  
  

  Open: enables for a full response and ppt can give full info in prose (qualities data-written, in depth)

  Adv-qualitative data, in depth, valid reflection of ppts beliefs

  Disadv-difficult to analyse, more difficult to draw conclusions

  
  

  Closed questions: Limited range of responses e.g, yes/no or scales (quantitive data)

  Adv-Quantitive data, easy to analyse to make comparisons

  Disadvantage- may not give valid reflection of ppts behaviour/ attitudes as they cannot elaborate
• What are leading and forced questions?

  Leading: questions worded in a way that leads ppts to rely in a certain way

  
  

  Forced: can't give response you want to as answers are laid out in a certain way e.g. Either

  /or so ppt cannot convey their true beliefs
• LoC research methods evaluation

  Measured using Rotter scale, number of issues with this scale, relies on forced choice questions, method may be subject to demand characteristics as scale is transparent which may lead to SDB as depending on the location a certain type of LoC may be perceived as more positive

  Such factors may impact the validity of the research
• What are the adv/disadvantage of questionnaires

  Adv:

  Pragmatic-easy to administer can yield significant quantities of data

  Less likely to have investigator effects

  Can be targeted carefully to research needs

  Ppts experience same research method enabling for comparisons

  Can give valid reflection of ppts beliefs /attitudes

  
  

  Disadvantages:

  Poor response rate(can impact population validity)

  Potential for demand characteristics and social. Desirability bias

  May give invalid responses depending on question type

  Cannot ask follow up questions/check understanding (impacts on validity)
• social support - resisting conformity

  the pressure to conform can be resisted if there are other people present not conforming. Asch's research showed this as the confederate not conforming reduced conformity levels as they disagreed with majority. even if they gave the incorrect answer.

  having someone else not following the majority = social support. it enables naive participants to be free to follow their own conscience. the confederate acts as a 'model' of independent behaviour. their dissent gives rise to more dissent. dissenter - shows majority is no longer unanimous.
• research support for the role of support for dissenting peers - resisting obedience 


  Further support comes from, gamsons 1982 study were asked to give evidence for an oil campaign to use in a smear campaign. 29/33 groups (88%) rebelled against orders, much higher than in Milgram's studies. this shows how supporters can undermine legitimacy or authority and reduce obedience