Social influence- resistance to social influence Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is social support?
The presence of a person who resists pressures to conform or obey that help others to do the same. They act as models for others.
How does social support impact conformity?
-The pressure to conform is reduced even if the other person is not right
-allows the naïve participant to follow their own conscience
-their dissent gives rise to more dissent because the majority is no longer unanimous
How does social support effect obedience?
-Helps people the resist obedience
-the pressure to obey is reduced if there is another person who sees to disobey
-they are more confident to act free
-in Milgram’s study the obedience fell from 65% to 10% when the participant was joined by a dissenting confederate which enabled them to be free to follow their own conscience
-the dissenting confederate challenged the legitimacy of the authority, making it easier to disobey.
What is a strength of social influence?
P: Real world supporting research
E: Albrecht et al (2006) evaluated teen fresh start USA, an 8 week programme to help pregnant adolescence to resist pressure to smoke. In one condition the participants have been given a buddy and at the end the results showed that those with a buddy were less likely to smoke
E: This shows that there is a benefit of social support intervention in the real world
What is a 2nd strength of social support?
P: Research supporting the role of the dissenting peers in resisting obedience
E: Gamson et al found higher levels of resistance in their study than Milgram’s study. This was because the participants had been put into groups so they could discuss what to do. 29 out of the 33 groups had rebelled against their orders.
E: This isa strength as it validates the explanation
What is a locus of control?
It is what we think directs our lives. Internals believe they are more responsible for what happens to them whilst externals believe it is a matter of luck or external forces.
-suggested by Rotter
What is the Locus of Control continuum?
-people aren’t just internal or external
-loc is a scale and peoples position on it can vary
How does LOC lead to resistance of social influence?
-Internal loc are able to resist pressures to conform or obey
-they accept greater responsibility for their actions and tend to base decisions on their own beliefs
-they are more confident and achievement-orientated
-this lead to greater resistance of social influence
What is a strength of LOC?
P: One strength is tat the explanation has research evidence to support the link between loc and resistance to obedience
E: Holland repeated Milgram’s study and measured whether participants were internals or externals. He found that 37% of the internals of not continue to the highest shock level, whereas 23% of internals externals did not continue
E: This shows that internal had great resistance to the authority in Milgram type situations. this show that the resistance is at least party related to the loc, which increases the validity of loc.
What is a limitation of LOC?
P: One limitation is the evidence that challenges the link between loc and resistance
E: For example. Twenge et al analysed data from American loc studies conducted over a 40 year period. The data showed tat over this time span, people became more resistant to obedience but also more external. This is a surprising outcome. If resistance is linked to an internal loc we would have expected people to have become more internal.
E: This suggests that loc is not a valid explanation
What is a 2nd limitation of LOC?
P: A limitation is that many studies show that having an internal loc is linked with being able to resist social influence which many not be the case
E: Rotter points out that loc is not necessarily the most important factor in determining whether someone resists social influence. Loc’s role depends on the situation. A persons loc only significantly affects their behaviour in new situations
E: If you have conformed pr obeyed in a specific situation on the past, the chances that you will do so again are high regardless of whether you have a high internal loc.
