Explanations of resistance to social influence

What is resistance to social influence?

Resistance to social influence occurs when an individual decides not to conform to the majority or not to obey the orders of an authority figure.

Why can resisting social influence involve risk?

Resisting social influence can involve the risk of being rejected or marginalised by a group, or being punished for refusing to obey an authority figure.

What is social support?

Social support occurs when someone else resists social influence, such as by not conforming or not obeying, which allows an individual to follow their conscience and go against the group or authority.

How does social support help resistance?

The presence of another person who resists demonstrates that it is possible to go against the group or authority, making it easier for an individual to resist.

How did Asch investigate social support?

Asch investigated social support through a variation of his conformity study involving the unanimity of the majority.

What happened when one confederate gave the correct answer in Asch's variation?

When one confederate went against the group and gave the correct answer, conformity decreased from 32% to 5%.

What happened when one confederate gave a different incorrect answer in Asch's variation?

Conformity decreased to 9%.

What do Asch's findings suggest about social support?

They suggest that the presence of a dissenter can reduce conformity and help people resist majority influence.

How did Milgram investigate social support?

Milgram included a variation in which the participant was placed in a group with two confederate Teachers who acted as disobedient models.

What was the group structure in Milgram's social support variation?

The naïve participant was one of three Teachers, alongside two confederates. A fourth confederate played the role of the Learner.

What happened at 150 volts in Milgram's social support variation?

One of the confederate Teachers refused to continue when the shock generator reached 150 volts.

What did the experimenter do when the first confederate refused?

The experimenter told the confederate that he must continue, but the confederate left the experiment anyway.

What happened at 210 volts in Milgram's social support variation?

The second confederate Teacher also left the experiment.

What happened to the naïve participant after both confederates left?

The experimenter instructed the participant to carry on with the task.

What percentage of participants dropped out before reaching 450 volts in Milgram's social support variation?

90% of participants dropped out before getting to 450 volts.

How many acts of defiance did 30% of participants require to resist authority in Milgram's variation?

30% of participants required only one act of defiance to exercise their resistance to authority.

What conclusion can be drawn from Milgram's social support variation?

Social support is a strong predictor of resistance to social influence.

What is locus of control (LOC)?

Locus of control refers to the extent to which someone believes they have control over and responsibility for their lives rather than attributing outcomes to external factors.

Who designed a scale to measure locus of control?

Rotter (1966) designed a scale to measure locus of control.

What did Rotter's (1966) scale measure?

It assessed the extent to which someone uses a predominantly internal or external locus of control.

What is an internal locus of control?

An internal locus of control is evident in people who feel that they have control over their lives and responsibility for their behaviour.

How does a high internal LOC relate to resistance?

People with a high internal LOC can resist pressure to conform and obey because they adhere to a high set of standards that they have designated themselves.

What personality characteristics are associated with a high internal LOC?

People with a high internal LOC tend to be confident, intelligent and achievement-orientated.

What is an example of high internal LOC relating to exam performance?

A person with high internal LOC may accept responsibility for failing an exam by admitting that they did not work hard enough.

What is an example of high internal LOC relating to authority?

A person may refuse to work beyond office hours at the weekend for a tyrannical boss.

What is an example of high internal LOC relating to peer pressure?

A person may refuse to join friends who are gossiping about someone.

What is an external locus of control?

An external locus of control is evident in people who feel that they have no control over their lives and assume a lack of responsibility for their behaviour.

How does a high external LOC relate to resistance?

People with a high external LOC are less able to resist pressure to conform and obey because they believe external factors determine their outcomes.

What personality characteristics are associated with a high external LOC?

People with a high external LOC tend to lack confidence, feel insecure and have a high need for social approval.

What is an example of high external LOC relating to exam performance?

A person may blame the teacher for their exam failure.

What is an example of high external LOC relating to authority?

A person may work beyond office hours at the weekend for a tyrannical boss because they do not feel able to say no.

What is an example of high external LOC relating to peer pressure?

A person may join friends who are gossiping about someone because they want to stay 'in' with the group.

What is the relationship between internal LOC and resistance to social influence?

People with a high internal LOC are more likely to resist pressure to conform and obey.

What is the relationship between external LOC and resistance to social influence?

People with a high external LOC are less able to resist pressure to conform and obey.

Does everyone have a completely internal or external LOC?

No. LOC exists on a continuum, and most people are not 100% internal or external.

Why is LOC not always clear-cut?

LOC may vary according to the situation, meaning a person's locus of control is not necessarily fixed across all circumstances.

What did Rank and Jacobson (1975) do?

Rank and Jacobson replicated Hofling's (1966) study.

What happened in Rank and Jacobson's (1975) study?

A doctor, whose name was recognised by the nurses, telephoned 18 different nurses and asked each to administer a non-lethal dose of Valium.

What were the nurses allowed to do in Rank and Jacobson's study?

The nurses were able to discuss the doctor's order with other nurses.

How many nurses immediately followed the doctor's order in Rank and Jacobson's study?

Only two of the 18 nurses immediately followed the doctor's order.

What did Rank and Jacobson's findings suggest?

They suggested that social support is a key factor in resisting social influence because the nurses were able to discuss the order with others first.

Why is Rank and Jacobson's (1975) study a strength of the social support explanation?

It provides research evidence that having the opportunity to discuss an authority's instructions with others can help people resist social influence.

What did Holland (1967) investigate?

Holland repeated Milgram's experiment to investigate the relationship between locus of control and resistance to authority.

What did Holland (1967) find?

37% of participants who refused to continue to 450 volts had a high internal LOC, compared with 24% of participants with a high external LOC.

What does Holland's research suggest?

It suggests that there is some validity to the idea that a high internal LOC is linked to resistance to authority.

Why is Holland's (1967) study a strength of the LOC explanation?

It provides research evidence supporting a relationship between high internal LOC and resistance to authority.

What is a limitation of the social support explanation?

The argument that social support enables people to resist social influence may not be true for everyone.

How can individual differences challenge the social support explanation?

Some people will always obey regardless of the circumstances, while others will never obey regardless of the circumstances.

Can social support have different effects in different situations?

Yes. Some people may find social support helpful in one context but not in another.

Why does this limit the social support explanation?

It means that social support does not fully account for individual differences in resistance to social influence.

What did Rotter (1982) argue about locus of control?

Rotter argued that LOC only seems to apply to new situations.

How does previous experience affect locus of control as an explanation of resistance?

If someone has previously obeyed or conformed in a specific situation, they are likely to do so again regardless of whether they have an internal or external LOC.

Why does Rotter's (1982) point reduce the validity of the LOC explanation?

It suggests that previous experience may be more important than LOC in determining behaviour in familiar situations.