Social Influence (resistance To Social Influence)

Question 1

Meaning of social influence

Answer 1

: the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or to obey authority. This ability is influenced by situational and dispositional factors.

Question 2

Meaning of locus of control

Answer 2

refers to the sense we each have about what directs events in our lives. Internals believe they are mostly responsible for what happens to them. Externals believe it is mainly a matter of luck or other outside forces.

Question 3

social support and resisting conformity (Acsh)

Answer 3

social support to enable people to resist conformity

the introduction of an ally caused conformity levels to drop sharply for 33 percent to 5.5 percent

explanation: an ally raises the possibilty that there are other legitimate ways of thinking and makes them feel more confident in resisting the majority

Question 4

social support and resisting obedience (milgrams)

Answer 4

three individuals testing the learning with 2 confederates who resisted, the result being that only 10% continued to the full shock level

explanation: individuals are more confident in their ability to resist when they have an ally who is willing to oppose the authority figure

Question 5

resistance to conformity (allen and levine)

Answer 5

conformity decreased when there was one dissenter in an Asch type study

Question 6

response order factor

Answer 6

the order of the response is importnatn

allen and levine - all participants went last. people were more likely to conform when the confederate with the right answer went first as they make a social commitment to the answer

less likely when confeferate went 4th - did not have enough time to socially commit

Question 7

+ evaluation: Resistance to obedience (gamson) and examples

Answer 7

Gamson found higher levels of resistance in their study than milgrams

unjust authority: manager was sacked because his lifestyle was offensive to the local community

partitcpants were in groups and had to produce evidence that would be used to help a oil company run a smear campaign

if they agreed with the manager they signed a consent form for their discussion to be show in the trial

• 29/33 rebelled

Question 8

+ evaluation reaseach support for LOC (Locus Of Control)

Answer 8

Holland (1967) - milgrams baseline study

measured with participants were internal or external

• 37% of internals did not continue to the highest shock level, compared to 23% of externals

HOWEVER twenge et al (2004) analysed data from american LOC studies over a 40 year period (from 1960 to 2002)

overtime people have become more resistant to obedience, but also more external

Question 9

• limited use of LOC

Answer 9

• LOC and the role in resisting obedience is exaggerated
• Rotter (1082) only comes into play in the novel situations

_ has little influence over our behaviouror in familiar situations where out previous experiences will always be more important

Question 10

social support - Rosenstrasse protest

Answer 10

• women protested against the holding of 2000 jewish men and demanded their release
• directly illustrates the idea that social support enables people to resist conformity
• social support - risking death together

Question 11

name the 2 different types of independent behaviour

Answer 11

internal, external

Question 12

internal independent behaviour meaning

Answer 12

controlling own destiny

• tend to be leaders
• more likely to resist control from others
• more likely to blame individuals

Question 13

external independent behaviour meaning

Answer 13

others control my destiny

• good understanding or social / world issues
• a critical mind
• better interpersonal skills