Psychology essay 3
Read the text and answer the question that follows
Two psychology students were discussing the topic of social influence.
I find it fascinating how some people are able to resist social influenceā, said Jack. āIt must be the result of having a confident personalityā
āI disagreeā, replied Sarah. āI think resisting social influence depends much more on the presence of othersā
Discuss two explanations of resistance to social influence. As part of your discussion, refer to the views expressed by Jack and Sarah in the conversation above
Resistance to social influence refers to the ability of people to withstand the social pressure to conform to the majority or obey authority. Although most people may conform or obey, there are always those who refuse to do so. Even in Milgramās study, 35% disobeyed the researcher at a certain point.
KNOWLEDGE (A01) ā SOCIAL SUPPORT
An explanation of resistance to social influence is the āsocial supportā explanation. Pressure to conform is at its most powerful when a group is āunanimousā (i.e. when every member of the group acts the same way).
Likewise, pressure to obey is at its most powerful when everyone obeys the figure of authority. However, if at least one person in a group resists the pressure to conform or obey (called a ādissenterā), this can help others to do the same. These people act as models to show others that resistance to social influence is possible by demonstrating how to resist as well as demonstrating the consequences of resisting.
For example, if someone rebels and disobeys an authority figure but avoids punishment, this may reduce the fear of disobeying in others. The social support provided by allies āfreesā others up to act according to their own conscience.
A03: Evaluation of SOCIAL SUPPORT
Research Support
Asch found in his line judgement task that when one of a group of confederates became a dissenter and gave a different answer to the other confederates (who gave a deliberately wrong answer), the conformity rate dropped sharply from 33% to, on average 5%. This was true even when the dissenter gave a different incorrect answer to the majority.
These finding support the view that social support helps people to resist social influence.
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Further support for the explanation comes from Milgram (1963): In one of Milgramās variations, the participant was one of a team of three testing the learner. The other two were confederates who, one after another, refused to administer the shocks. Milgram found that the confederates defiance resulted in a dramatic drop in obedience from 65% to just 10%. It appears that the confederations had āfreed upā the participants to disobey.
This is positive as it supports the view that we are more likely to resist pressures to obey if we have social support.
Furthermore, Allen and Levine (1971) conducted an Asch-type study to support the social influence explanation: It was found that, not only did the conformity rate decrease when dissenters were present, but this occurred even when the dissenter wore thick glasses and said he had difficulty with his vision.
This supports the view that resistance is not just motivated by following what someone else says but it enables someone to be free of the pressure from the group.
There are two explanations of resistance to social influence- locus of control and social support. Locus of control refers to the extent to which people believe that they have control over their own lives. Someone with an internal locus of control may believe that they have full control over their lives, and that events in their lives are due to their own actions, wheras those with an external locus of control may believe that things happen to them, and that events in their life may be due to fate or luck. Those with an internal locus of control will be less likely to be affected by social influence as they believe they are in charge of their own choices and actions. Jack is referring to someone with an internal locus of control, as someone with an internal locus of control is more likely to have a confident personality, and traits that cause them to be less likely to conform to social influence.
Social support refers to the presence of a dissenter, or another person who resists the social influence, which can help others to do the same. These people act as models to show others that resistance to social influence is possible by demonstrating the consequences of resisting. Pressure to conform is highest when the group is unanimous, and so therefore people who have social support are more likely to cont conform/disobey.Sarah is referring to social support, as if someone is in the presence of others, particularly those who disobey/do not conform, they are less likely to give in to social pressure.
One strength of the locus of support explanation is research support from Crowne et al, who completed an asch-type experiment, and then tested participantās locus of control. They found that those with in internal locus of control conformed less than those with an external locus of control. This shows that there is a link between a persons locus of control and their resistance to social influence.
However, one weakness of the locus of control explanation is that it relies on correlational evidence. This means that it fails to establish cause and effect. This could mean that the internal locus of control is not what is causing people to be less affected by social influence, but it could be another unknown variable. This is an issue, as the research that supports this theory could lack validity.
One strength of the social support explanation is research support from Asch, who did a variation in which there was a dissenter who gave a different answer to the other confederates, finding that the conformity rates dropped from around 33% to 5%. This was true even if the dissenter gives a different wrong answer. This supports the view that social support allows people to resist social influence.