Explanations of resistance to social influence

• Resistance to social influence

  The ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority
• Factors influencing resistance to social pressure

  • Situational
  • Dispositional
• Explanations of resistance to social influence

  • Social support
  • Locus of control
• Social support


  The presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey can help others to do the same. These people act as models to show others that resistance to social influence is possible.
• Conformity


  Reduced by a dissenting peer

  the effect is not long lasting
• Obedience


  Reduced by one other dissenting partner

  the dissenter's disobedience frees the participant to act from their own conscience
• Locus of control


  The sense we have about what directs events in our lives. A person's perception of personal control over their own behaviour. Proposed by Rotter (1966)
• Types of locus of control

  • Internal
  • External
• Internal locus of control

  • High level of personal control over their lives and behaviour, take personal responsibility, mostly responsible for what happens to them, actively seek out information to help them personally, less likely to rely on others, more achievement oriented, can resist pressure from others
• External locus of control

  • Belief that life is determined by external/environmental factors such as luck, things happen without their own control, more likely to be influenced by others as they don't believe they exercise personal control over their lives
• Having an internal locus of control


  Perceive themselves as being in control over their behaviour, more likely to take personal responsibility for it. more likely to be able to resist pressure to conform or obey
• Having an external locus of control


  More likely to be influenced by others as they don't believe they exercise personal control over their lives. believe their behaviour is controlled more by external influences such as other people or luck
• a strength of social support is Supporting evidence comes from Asch (1951) who found that conformity reduced to 5.5% when one of the confederates gave a different answer to the rest of the group. This was true even when the confederates answer was a different wrong answer to the others in the group. Social support breaks the unanimous position of the majority.
• a strength of social support is Supporting evidence comes from Milgram (1963) who found obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the genuine participants were joined by a disobedient confederate. Independent behaviour increased from 35% to 90% in the disobedient peer condition. Social support – people are more confident to resist obedience if they can find an ally who is willing to join them.
• a strength for locus of control is Supporting evidence from Holland (1967) who replicated Milgram’s obedience research and measured whether participants were internals or externals. He found 37% of internals did not continue to the highest shock levels whereas only 23% of externals did not continue. Internals showed greater resistance to authority. This is positive as it supports the idea that having a high internal locus of control increases a person’s chances of resisting social influence.
• a weakness for locus of control is Twenge (2004) research contradicts the locus of control explanation. They analysed findings from obedience studies over a 40-year period and found people have become more resistant to obedience but also more external. This is a problem for the LOC explanation because if resistance were linked to an internal LOC, we would have expected people to have become more internal.