resistance to social influence Flashcards
(17 cards)
what is meant by resistance to social influence?
the ability to withstand the social pressure to conform to majority, minority or obey authority
what are the two explanations for resistance to social influence?
locus of control and social support
define locus of control?
a person’s perception of personal control over their own behaviour- it is a personality explanation
effectively it is how responsible we feel for events in our lives
what does someone with a high internal locus of control believe?
their life is determined by their own decisions and efforts (responsible)
what does someone with a high external locus of control believe?
their life is determined by fate, luck and external factors (can’t control/ not responsible)
who is the key psychologist for LoC?
Rotter
which type of locus of control is more likely to resist social influence?
high internal
why might someone with high internal locus of control be more likely to resist social influence?
-feel responsible for actions so less likely to blindly obey/conform
-more confident
-more achievement orientated
-high intelligence
-less socially motivated
what is meant by social support?
we resist social influence because of the presence of people who resist pressures to conform or obey, which helps others do the same
how does social support enable someone to resist social influence?
they are modelling independent behaviour that does not follow the majority and frees a person to act from their own conscience
challenges LoA and allows people to be in an autonomous state
what type of explanation is social support?
situational
give a specific research example of how social support can reduce obedience and conformity?
ob- Mligram found obedience dropped to 10% when ppt was joined by disobedient confederate
con- dissenter in Asch’s study reduced conformity even when they gave a different wrong answer.
what is research to support social support? how can this be countered?
Allen and Levine found independence increased with one dissenter in an Asch-type study from 3% to 64%
resistance is not motivated by following what someone else says but it enables someone to be free of pressure from group
HOWEVER
social support didn’t always reduce conformity- when dissenter wore thick glasses to show poor eyesight, resistance was only 36% so other factors involved
how might the role of LoC be exaggerated?
Rotter et al found LoC only important in new situations- has little influence in familiar situations where previous experiences are always more important
so LoC can only explain limited situations
how has there been real life application of social support?
Albrecht et al evaluated Teen Fresh start USA; programme to help pregnant teens resist peer pressure to smoke
SS was provided by a buddy who was slightly older
by end of programme, those with non-smoking buddy much less likely to smoke than those without a buddy
what is the research to support LoC?
Holland repeated Milgram’s study and measures whether ppts were internals or externals
37% internals did not continue to highest shock and showed independence
only 23% of externals didn’t
what is the contradictory research for LoC?
Twenge et al analysed data from American obedience studies over 40 year period
data showed that people have become more resistant to obedience BUT more external
this contradicts how supposedly resistance to SI is due to internal LoC
BUT results may be due to changing society where things are out of personal control
