Resistance to Social Influence
Having Social Support can make people more resistant:
More of Milgram’s participants resisted orders if there were other participants present who refused to obey. This suggests that people find it easier to stand up to authority if they have support from others because they no longer have to take full responsibility for rebelling
This ties in with Asch’s research on conformity. He found that participants were more likely to resist the pressure to conform if one of the confederates agreed with them. It seems that people are more likely to display independent behaviour if they’ve got support from others
It doesn’t really make sense to call this behaviour independent, seeing as it depends on having someone else there to agree with you… but go with it…
Aspects of Personality may influence Independent Behaviour:
A personality characteristic called locus of control might also affect your resistance to social influence. This indicates how much personal control you believe you have over events in your life
The idea is that people who feel they’re generally in control of what happens in their lives are more likely to resist- this is a dispositional explanation for resistance
Rotter (1966) developed a questionnaire to measure the locus of control
The questionnaire involved choosing between paired statements like these ones:
Misfortune is usually brought about by people’s own actions:
If you agree with this statement you have an external locus of control. This is a belief that events are caused by external factors, like luck or the actions of others
Things that make us unhappy are largely due to bad luck
If you agree with this statement you have an external locus of control. This is a belief that events are caused by external factors, like luck or the actions of others
People with an internal locus of control feel a stronger sense of control over their lives than people with an external locus of control. This means that they’re more likely to exhibit independent behaviour- i.e they’re less likely to conform or obey
People with an external locus of control may be more likely to conform or obey
Having Social Support can make people more resistant:
More of Milgram’s participants resisted orders if there were other participants present who refused to obey. This suggests that people find it easier to stand up to authority if they have support from others because they no longer have to take full responsibility for rebelling
This ties in with Asch’s research on conformity. He found that participants were more likely to resist the pressure to conform if one of the confederates agreed with them. It seems that people are more likely to display independent behaviour if they’ve got support from others
It doesn’t really make sense to call this behaviour independent, seeing as it depends on having someone else there to agree with you… but go with it…
Aspects of Personality may influence Independent Behaviour:
A personality characteristic called locus of control might also affect your resistance to social influence. This indicates how much personal control you believe you have over events in your life
The idea is that people who feel they’re generally in control of what happens in their lives are more likely to resist- this is a dispositional explanation for resistance
Rotter (1966) developed a questionnaire to measure the locus of control
The questionnaire involved choosing between paired statements like these ones:
Misfortune is usually brought about by people’s own actions:
If you agree with this statement you have an external locus of control. This is a belief that events are caused by external factors, like luck or the actions of others
Things that make us unhappy are largely due to bad luck
If you agree with this statement you have an external locus of control. This is a belief that events are caused by external factors, like luck or the actions of others
People with an internal locus of control feel a stronger sense of control over their lives than people with an external locus of control. This means that they’re more likely to exhibit independent behaviour- i.e they’re less likely to conform or obey
People with an external locus of control may be more likely to conform or obey
