Explanations of Resistance to Social Influence Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is resistance to social influence?
Individual’s ability to withstand the pressure to conform/change their behaviour/obey
Examples of resistance in research
- Asch 25% pps never conformed
- Asch conformity dropped to 5.5% due to dissenter
- Milgram 35% stopped at 315V
- Hoffling 1/22 nurses resisted
What is social support?
Supporters/dissenters likely to reduce conformity as, by breaking unanimity, raise the possibility of other legitimate ways of thinking
e.g social support
Allen and Levine 1971 (Asch replication)
- Pps had no support: 97% conformity
- Pps had supporter/normal vision/correct answers: 36%
- Pps had supporter/poor vision/thick glasses/some incorrect answers: 64%
Research support social support (evaluation)
- ‘Two Peer’s Rebel Study’ (Milgram variation)
- Naive pps also left the experiment when the confederates did
What is locus of control (LOC)?
- Extent to which individuals believe they can control events affecting them
- Two types: internal and external
- Proposed by Rotter 1966
What is an internal LOC?
- Believe you can control outcomes in your life, confident in your ability
- More likely to resist social influence
What is an external LOC?
- Believe what will be will be, fate, you’re not in control of the outcomes in life
- Less likely to resist social influence
What are internals more likely to resist social influence?
- Active seekers of info, rely less on the opinions of others
- More achievement orientated, more like leaders
- Better resist coercion
- See consequence of their behaviour as their own responsibility
Strength LOC (evaluation)
- Holland 1967 (variation of Milgram)
- 37% internals disobedient, compared to 23% in externals
- Adds to validity of theory
Weakness LOC (evaluation)
- Spector 1983
- Found correlation between LOC and NSI, but not with ISI
- LOC has limited ability to explain all resistance behaviour, other factors may explain it
