Specification: Explanations of resistance to social influence, including social support and locus of control.

Asch’s (1951) research demonstrates the power of social influence through conformity and his variations provide an insight into how group size, unanimity and task difficulty can increase or decrease the influence of the majority. Milgram (1963), on the other hand, highlights our susceptibility to obeying orders, and his variations reveal the different variables that can increase or decrease our willingness to follow orders. Since Asch and Milgram’s research have examined explanations of resistance to social influence; our willingness to resist pressure to conform or obey, including social support and locus of control. 

Social support

One reason that people can resist the pressure to conform or obey is if they have an ally – someone supporting their point of view. Having an ally can build confidence and allow individuals to remain independent.

Individuals who have support for their point of view no longer fear being ridicules, allowing them to avoid normative social influence. Although Asch reports that if this dissenter then returns to conform then so does the naïve participant, meaning that the effect may only be short-term.

Furthermore, individuals who have support for their point of view are less likely to obey orders and feel better able to resist the pressure if there is another person present who also does not obey. 

Evaluating social support

There is research support for social support in reducing pressure to conform. In one of Asch’s (1951) variations, one of the confederates was instructed to give the correct answer throughout. In this variation, the rate of conformity dropped to 5%. This demonstrated that if the real participant has support for their belief (social support), then they are more likely to resist the pressure to conform. This suggests that social support lowers the pressure of the group making it easier to demonstrate independent behaviour.

There is research support for social support in reducing pressure to obey which comes from Milgram (1974). In one of Milgram’s variations, the real participant is paired with two additional confederates, who also played the role of teachers. In this variation, the two additional confederates refused to go on and withdrew from the experiment early. In this variation, the percentage of real participants who processed to the full 450 volts dropped from 65% to 10%. This shows that if the real participant has support for their desire to disobey, then they are more likely to resist the pressure of an authority figure.

Locus of control

In some cases people can resist the pressure to conform or obey because of their personality. Rotter (1966) proposed the idea of locus of control, which is the extend to which people believe they have control over their own lives.

People with an internal locus of control believe that what happens in their life is largely the result of their own behaviour and that they have control over their life. Individuals with an internal locus of control are, therefore, more independent and find it easier to resist pressure to conform or obey. Conversely, people with an external locus of control believe that what happens to them is controlled by external factors and that they do not have control over their life. This means that they are more likely to succumb to pressure to conform or obey and are less likely to show independent behaviour.

Evaluation of locus of control

There is research that supports the idea that individuals with an internal locus of control are less likely to conform. Spector (1983) used Rotter’s locus of control scale to determine whether locus of control is associated with conformity. From 157 students, Spector found that individuals with a high internal locus of control were less likely to conform than those with a high external locus of control, but only in situations of normative social influence, where individuals conform to be accepted. There was no difference between the two groups for informational social influence. This suggests that normative social influence, the desire to fit in, is more powerful than informational social influence, the desire to be right, when considering locus of control.

Research supports the idea that individuals with an internal locus of control are more likely to resist the pressure to obey. Oliner & Oliner (1998) interviewed non-Jewish survivors of WWII and compared those who had resisted orders and protected Jewish people from the Nazi’s with those who had not. Oliner & Oliner found that the 406 ‘rescuers’, who had resisted orders, were more likely to have a high internal locus of control, in comparison with the 126 people who had simply followed orders. These results appear to support the idea that a high internal locus of control make individuals less likely to follow orders, although there are many other factors that may have caused individuals to follow orders in WWII and it is difficult to conclude that locus of control is the only factor.

However, there is contradictory evidence, since not all research supports the link between locus of control and resistance to social influence. Twenge et al (1967) conducted a meta-analysis of studies spanning over four decades and found that, over time, people have become more external in their locus of control but also more resistant to obedience, which in incongruent to Rotter’s original suggestions. This challenges the established link between internal locus of control and higher resistance.

Possible exam questions

1. Social support can increase resistance to social influence. This was demonstrated in Asch’s research studies when: (1 mark)

a) the task difficulty was increased making the line task more ambiguous

b) the participants were asked to write down their answers instead of say them out loud

c) the confederates were unanimous in giving the wrong answers

d) a dissenter gave a different answer from the rest of the confederates and agreed with the naïve participant. 

2. With reference to resistance to social influence, explain what is meant by social support. (2 marks)

3. When in a large group of friends, it is very easy for an individual to simply go along with their views, even if they don’t agree privately. However, sometimes people are able to resist the pressure to conform. Using what you have learned from studying conformity, outline one reason why someone might resist the pressure to conform. (2 marks) 

4. Two students, Georgina and Peter, have just started in Year 12 at their local college. By the end of the first term Peter has put his name forward to be a prefect. He believes it is luck whether he will be selected and feels that there is nothing he can do to influence the process. Georgina did not put her name forward because her mother told her not to. (2 marks)

a) What type of locus of control does Peter’s behaviour show?

b) What type of locus of control does Georgina’s behaviour show?

5. Briefly describe locus of control as an explanation of resistance to social influence. (4 marks) 

6. Rotter used a questionnaire to measure locus of control. Identify one strength and one weakness of using this method. (4 marks)

7. Using your knowledge of psychology, explain why some people might resist pressures to conform. (4 marks) 

8. Hafsa likes to leave her shirt untucked when at school and notices that lots of other students do the same, including a girl in her class called Helen. However, when the new head teacher introduced strict uniform guidelines and harsh punishments for not obeying, most students started to tuck their shirts in every day. However, Hafsa and her classmate Helen continued to leave their shirts untucked. 

Using your knowledge of resistance to social influence, explain why Hafsa and Helen continued to resist the pressure to obey the school rules. (4 marks)

9. Discuss one or more explanation of why people resist the pressure to conform. (8 marks)

10. Discuss explanations of resistance to social influence. (16 marks)

11. Outline and evaluate two explanations of resistance to social influence. (16 marks)

12. Read the item below and then answer the question that follows. 

Two A level students were discussing the topic of social influence after their last psychology lesson. 

Louise: “It’s incredible how some people can resist social influence isn’t it, Matt? They must have a strong personality with lots of confidence”.

Matt: “I don’t agree with you, Louise, I think people are more likely to resist social influence if the people they are with do so too”. 

Outline and evaluate two explanations of resistance to social influence. In your answer, refer to the views expressed by Louise and Matt in the conversation above. (16 marks)