Resistance to social influence Social support and Locus of control Flashcards
(23 cards)
How does social support help resist conformity?
When someone else does not conform, it gives others the confidence to dissent, even if the supporter gives a different wrong answer (e.g. Asch’s study)
What does the dissenter act as?
A ‘model’ of independent behaviour, showing the group is not unanimous.
How does social support help resist obedience?
Seeing another person disobey authority acts as a ‘model’ for dissent, giving individual confidence to act from conscience.
What was the finding in Milgram’s variation with social support?
Obedience dropped from 65% to 10% when the participant was joined by a disobedient confederate.
Who studies Locus of control?
Rotter
What is Locus of control (Rotter, 1966)?
A personality concept measuring how much people believe they control events in their lives.
What is an internal LOC?
Belief that outcomes are due to one’s own effort and actions.
What is an external LOC?
Belief that outcomes are caused by external factors like luck, fate, or other people.
Is LOC a binary unit?
No - it exists on a continuum from high internal to high external.
How does LOC relate to resisting social influence?
People with a high internal LOC are more likely to resist conformity and obedience.
Why are internals more resistant to influence?
They take personal responsibility, are more self-confident, achievement oriented, and intelligent - traits linked to leadership.
Why is social support a useful concept in life?
It helps people resist pressures to conform or obey in situations like peer pressure, groupthink, or unethical authority.
What’s the practical implication of social support?
It can be used in education, therapy, and intervention programmes to promote independent thinking.
Is social support always effective?
No - some people may still conform or obey even when others dissent.
What does this show?
Social support is a helpful factor, but resistance also depends on personality and situation.
What’s good about using LOC to explain resistance?
It helps explain why some people resist while others don’t, even in the same situation.
Why is this useful?
LOC adds a dispositional (personality-based) explanation to social influence, giving a fuller understanding.
How are LOC and social support usually studied?
Through controlled lab experiments and questionnaires - e.g. measuring obedience, conformity and personality traits.
What is the strength of LOC studies?
The methods used allows for replication, control of variables and objective measurement - increasing reliability and internal validity.
What is a methodological issue with LOC research?
LOC is usually measured with self-report questionnaires - rely on accuracy.
What does the methodological issue affect?
It can reduce the validity of the findings because people may misunderstand, lie, or respond in a socially desirable way.
What’s a limitation of using lab settings in social support studies?
lab studies may lack ecological validity because they’re artificial and don’t reflect real-life pressure.
Why does it matter if the studies of social support don’t represent real life?
People may behave differently in real-world social situations, so findings may not generalise well.
