Resistance to Social Influence

Social Support

• Pressure to conform is reduced if other people are not conforming.
• Asch's research showed that the dissenter doesn't have the right to give the 'right' answer.
• Simply someone else not following the majority frees others to follow their own conscience. The dissenter acts as a 'model'.
• Asch's research also showed that if this 'non-conforming' peer starts conforming again, so does the naive participant.
• Pressure to obey can be reduced if another person is seen to disobey.
• Milgram's research: independent behaviour increased in the disobedient peer condition (from 35% to 90%).
• The participant may not follow the disobedient peer but the dissenter's disobedience frees the participant to act from their own conscience.

Evaluation

• Research evidence supports the role of dissenting peers in resisting conformity. Allen and Levine found independence with one dissenter in an Asch-type study. This occurred even if the dissenter wore thick glasses and said he had problems with vision, so resistance is not motivated by following what someone else says but it enables someone to be free of pressure from the group.
• Research evidence supports the role of dissenting peers in resisting obedience. Gamson et al found higher levels of rebellion than Milgram did. Gamson's participants were in groups. In Gamson's study, 29 out of 33 groups of participants rebelled. This shows that peer support is linked to greater resistance.

Locus of Control (LOC)

• Julian Rotter (1966) described internal versus…