Explanations for resistance to SI

• Social support, Asch 1956:

  • Presence of social support helps people resist conformity, shown by the variations in study with supportive confederate. (rate drop from 33% to 5.5%)
  • Shows importance of breaking unanimity
  • Research has shown that individuals more likely to disobey authority if they can find allies willing to join the disobedience - disobedient peers act act role models
  • In Milgram variation, P is one of a team of three testing learner. One by one, confederated refused to shock, leaving only 10% to go to 450V
• Locus of control

  • Persons perception of their control over their own behaviour
  • External LoC: believe what happens is due to outside factors and unavailable, cannot be controlled, Take less personal responsibility
  • Internal LoC: believe what happens due to own ability and effort. More likely to show independence, and to resist SI more
• Locus of Control

  • Internals less likely to rely on others opinions, less likely to be SI, tend to be more achievement oriented and therefore be leaders (found to be more persuasive and goal oriented than externals), better able to resist coercion (in prisoner of war simulations, able to resist interrogator’s attempts to gaininfo more)
• AO3

  • Allen and Levine 1969, Asch variation. If allied confederate answered first in order, P more often didn't conform. If ally answered fourth (right before P), P more often conformed. When ally answers first, confirms P initial judgement, making them more likely to stick to it, instead of having judgement questioned multiple times before being supported
• AO3

  • Rees and Wallace 2015, show social support from friends can help resist majority pressure. People with majority friends who drink more likely to partake in binge drinking and drunkenness, but those who have a couple friends who abstain more likely to resist pressure. Consistent with lab studies studying similar idea
• AO3

  • 1943 Rosenstrasse protest. Berlin women protest against Gestapo holding 2000  Jew men (some were husband's, some sons). Even with Gestapo threatening them, women all stayed and Jews eventually set free. Presence of disobedient peers provided courage
• AO3

  • Spector 1983, 157 graduate students. Gound correlation between LoC and predisposition to NSI, externals more likely to conform, but no relationship with ISI. LoC less likely to be factor in ISI
• AO3

  • Twenge 2004 found young Americans increasingly believed fate was due to luck and the powers of others compared to own actions. LoC found to be increasingly external in young people between 1960-2002
• AO3

  • Avtgis 1998, found positive correlation between internal/external LoC and measures of persuasion, social influence, and conformity