Resistance to Social Influence

Question 1

what is resistance to social influence

Answer 1

the ability to withstand social pressures to conform

Question 2

what are the two explanations for resisting social influence

Answer 2

• social support
• locus of control (LoC)

Question 3

what is social support

Answer 3

the presence of people who resist pressure to conform or obey can help others to do the same

Question 4

what is locus of control

Answer 4

• the sense we each have about what directs events in our life

Question 5

how does social support lead to someone resisting conformity

Answer 5

• the presence of another person who doesnt conform acts as a model
• this gives the individual more confidence to reject the views of the majority aswell

Question 6

explain research that supports the role of social support in resisting conformity

Answer 6

asch

• in one of his variations he found that an ally leads to lower levels of confomity
• he instructed one confederate to give the right answer
• conformity went from 36.5% to 5%

Question 7

how does social support lead to someone resiting obedienbce

Answer 7

• the disobedient individuals act as role models

Question 8

explain research which supports the role of social support in resisting obedience

Answer 8

milgram

• the real participant was teamed with two other supposed participants
• one of them announced they would stop after 150 volts and the other refused at 210 volts
• obedience dropped from 65% to 10%

Question 9

explain a study that supports the social support theory

Answer 9

asch

• he did a variation of his study and included a dissenter
• conformity went from 36.8% to 5.5%

Question 10

what are the two types of locus of control

Answer 10

• internal
• external

Question 11

explain internal locus of control

Answer 11

believe they have strong control over events in their life and take responsibility for their actions

Question 12

explain external locus of control

Answer 12

believe events are caused by other forces such as luck or fate

Question 13

how does LoC affect people comforming and obeying

Answer 13

• people with an external LoC are more likely to obey and conform

Question 14

how does LoC influence resistance

Answer 14

• high internals seek out information so rely less on other people
• they have confidence

Question 15

explain a study that supports the idea of locus of control

Answer 15

avtgis

• meta anyalysis of studies involving LoC and resisting conformity
• found individuals with an internal LoC were less persuadable and less likely to conform
• aupporting the idea that differences in LoC is linked to the differences in ability to resist social influence

Question 16

explain a study that discredits the locus of control theory

Answer 16

twenge et al

• meta analysis comparing young perople between 1960 and 2002
• found pople have become more resistant to obedience but mre external
• this goes against locus of control as you would expect the opposite