Essay
Outline and evaluate the role of social support and locus of control in resisting social influence
- Module
- Social influence
- Institution
- AQA
A level social influence 16 marker full mark essay
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Outline and evaluate the role of social support and locus of control in resisting socialinfluence. (16 marks)
Although the majority of people may conform or obey the demands of authority, there are
always those that refuse to do so. Part of the reason for resistance to social influence may
lie with the social support provided by others. Standing firm against peer pressure or
resisting the demands of a harmful authority figure is always easier with an ally.
Asch, a psychologist who conducted a study on conformity in 1956, found that, in his study,
the presence of social support enabled an individual to resist conformity pressure from the
majority. For example, in one of Asch’s variations of his study, he found that the presence of
an ally who gave the right answer (and so resisted conformity) caused conformity levels to
drop sharply from 33% to 5.5%. One of the main reasons why social support appears to be
so effective at helping reduce conformity is because of the idea that it breaks the
unanimous position of the majority. By breaking unanimity, it raises the possibility that
there are other ways of thinking. Furthermore, it provided the individual with an
independent assessment of reality that enables them to feel more confident in their
decision.
However, Allen and Levine (1969) discovered that social support was only effective in a
certain response order in Asch’s study. In one condition, a confederate answered first, giving
the right answer while the other confederates gave the wrong answer. In the second
condition, the confederate gave the correct answer in the fourth condition. Allen and Levine
found that support was significantly more effective in position 1 than in position 4. This is
believed to be due to a correct first answer confirming the participant’s own judgement and
committing them to the correct response.
Furthermore, Allen and Levine also looked at whether social support had to be valid to be
effective in helping participants resist conformity. In one condition, the confederate
providing the support wore glasses with very thick lenses, making him an invalid support,
given that this was a test on visual discrimination. In the second condition, the supporter
had normal vision. The researchers found that both conditions reduced the amount of
conformity, but the valid support had a much higher impact, showing that the ally did not
have to be valid but it was preferred.
Additionally, social support has also been shown to be very effective at reducing obedience
levels. Research has shown that individuals are more confident in their ability to resist the
temptation to obey if they can find an ally who is willing to disobey with them. As a result,
disobedient peers act as role models in which the individual can model their own behaviour.
For example, in one of Milgram’s variations, the participant was one of three testing the
learner in which the other two were confederates who refused to shock the learner. The
presence of two defiant peers caused obedience levels to drop to 10%.
Locus of control is another explanation used to describe how specific personality
characteristics can cause an individual to resist social influence. The term ‘locus of control’
(LOC) refers to a person’s perception of personal control over their own behaviour and is
measured along a dimension of ‘high internal’ to ‘high external’. An individual with a high
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