SOCIAL INFLUENCE ( resistance to social influence )

Question 1

Outline Social support and research supporting it

Answer 1

Def : Having an ally ( someone who also resists ) make it easier for a person to resist conformity or obedience

Conformity ( Asch) - when one confederate gave the correct answer , conformity dropped from 75% to around 5% . The ally breaks the group’s unanimity , giving the individual confidence to resist.

Obedience ( Milgram’s study) - when ppts were joined by a disobedient confederate , obedience fell from 65% to 10% . This shows that seeing someone else disobey gives moral support and reduces pressure.

Question 2

Outline Locus of control and the two types as well as research support

Answer 2

Def : This is a personality trait that influences how much control someone believes they have over their life

Internal Loc : Believes they are responsible for their own actions . More likely to resist social influence.

External LoC : believes their behaviour is determined by external forces ( luck , fate ) . More likely to obey or conform

Research support : Oliner & Oliner found that individuals who rescued Jews during WWII had more internal LoC than those who didn’t