Resistance to social influence

Social support

• The pressure of people who resist pressure to conform or obey can help others do the same

• Act as a role model

Social support And conformity

• Asch found having a dissenting peer can reduce conformity

• The intro of an ally who gave the right answer and resisted pressure caused conformity levels to drop

• Reduction from 33%-5.5%

• Breaks unanimous position

• Dissenters raise the possibility that there are other ways of thinking

• An alternative that makes them feel confident

Social support and obedience

• Can make a harmful action if no one is disobeying

• Ss can change this

• Research shows that individuals are more confident in their ability to resist obedience if they find an ally

• Disobedient→ role model

• Milgrams variations- teacher worked in a 3 testing the learner, the 2 teachers were confederates that refused to continue shocking the learner

• Reduced obedience with only 10% continuing to 450volts

Locus of control

• Internal or external Rotter (196h)

• This LOC influences our decision making

• An internal LOC suggest that we believe tge things that happen to us are under our control

• An external LOC suggests that we believe the things that happen to us are outside out control

  AO3 social support

• Real world support- Albrecht et al evaluated teen fresh start, an 8 week programme to help pregnant teens 14-19 to resist peer pressure to smoke. Social support was provided by an older mentor. P’s with a buddy were less likely to smoke than a control group with no buddy

• Research support- Gamson et al told p’s to produce evidence that would be used to help an oil company run a smear campaign. Researchers found higher levels of resistance in their study than milgram did in his. 88% of groups rebelled against their orders.

AO3 LOC

Research support- Holland repeated milgrams baseline study and measured whether ps were internal or external. 37% of internals don’t continue to the highest shock level 23% of externals didn’t continue

Contradictory research- twinge et al analysed data from American LOC studies carried out between 1960 and 2002. People became more resistant to social inflorescence but also became more external. If resistance is linked to LOC we would expect people to have become more internal