This is a document of evaluation (a03) worth 10 marks in a potential essay about explanations of resistance
These can also be 8 markers in their own right
Discuss the role of social support in resisting social influence (8 Marks)
A03:
One strength of social support resisting to social influence is that there is evidence. Research by
Allen and Levine (1971) investigated the presence of a dissenter in an Asch type study, when the
dissenter was present (and had good eyesight) 64% of participants refused to conform I.e., resisted
social influence. This was even the case when the dissenter wore thick glasses and said he couldn’t
see well I.e., he was unlikely to have accurately judged the lines. This supports the role of social
support in resisting conformity because it shows that if there is another person not following the
majority I.e., resisting then it makes it easier to resist also. Even when the dissenter may not have
been right due to bad vision it provided the social support to enable others to resist the conformity
as they were free to follow their own conscience.
One strength is that there is research support for social support in resisting obedience. Research by
Gamson et al (1982) found that there was more resistance to obedience than Milgram did. In
Gamson’s the participants were in groups. 29/33 of the participants (88%) rebelled and therefore
they resisted the social influence. This supports the role of social support in resisting obedience
because the fact that they were in a group would have acted as social support and this is then linked
to the resistance of obedience shown.
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