explanation of resistance to social influence

• Independent behaviour


  Behaviour which seems not to be influenced by other people
• Independent behaviour


  • Resisting the pressures to conform or obey
• When a person resists the pressure to conform


  It can be easier if there are others also resisting the pressure to conform
• When someone else is also not conforming

  This will appear to be social support and allows the person to follow their own conscience
• If another person is seen to disobey


  It allows the person to also disobey as it challenges the legitimacy of the authority
• Albrecht et al (2006) evaluated a programme


  • Designed to help pregnant teenagers resist smoking
  • Social support was provided to some of the teenagers by an older mentor
  • At the end of the 8 week programme, they found the participants who had a mentor were less likely to smoke than the control group who did not have a mentor
• This shows that social support can help young people resist social influence in the real world
• Therefore, it has strong practical applications
• Locus of control


  The extent to which we believe we have control over our own behaviour and life
• External Locus of Control

  When a person feels they do not have control over their own lives and believe their life is controlled by external factors
• Internal Locus of Control


  When a person feels they have control over their own life and behaviour
• People with a high internal locus of control


  • They are believed to be able to resist the pressure to conform and obey
  • They tend to be more self-confident, intelligent and achievement-orientated, which provides them with personality traits that give them greater resistance to social control
• Holland (1967) repeated Milgram's baseline experiment


  • 37% of those participants who were measured to have a high internal locus of control did not continue to the highest shock, whereas only 24% of participants who were measured to have a high external locus of control did not continue to the highest shock level
• This shows those with a high internal locus of control have a greater resistance to authority
• However, Rotter (1982) suggests our locus of control only has influence in new situations
• If they have previously obeyed or conformed to a situation, it is likely they would do so again, no matter whether their locus of control is internal or external