What factors help people resist social influence?
Explanations of resistance to social influence, including social support and locus of control.
Covers AQA 4.1.3 resistance to social influence: social support (allies breaking unanimity) and locus of control (internal versus external), with supporting research and evaluation.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to explain two factors that help people resist conformity and obedience: social support and locus of control. The exam skill is to explain the mechanism of each (breaking unanimity, taking personal responsibility) and to support each with the standard research.
Social support
Social support is the situational factor that helps people resist, and it works by breaking the power of a unanimous group. When everyone around us agrees, the pressure to go along is strong, but the presence of even one other person who resists changes the situation in two ways: it breaks the unanimity of the majority, removing the social pressure of being the lone dissenter, and it provides a model of independent behaviour that shows resistance is possible. The evidence comes directly from the studies you already know. In Asch's variations, introducing a single dissenting confederate (an ally) who gave the correct answer reduced conformity sharply, even when that ally was not always right, because what mattered was that the participant was no longer alone. In Milgram's variations, when the genuine participant was joined by a disobedient confederate who refused to continue, full obedience collapsed from 65% to about 10%, because the rebel modelled disobedience and undermined the legitimacy of carrying on. An important evaluative nuance is that the effect can be temporary: in Asch's work, if the ally later began conforming to the majority again, the participant's conformity returned, so the support must be sustained.
Locus of control
Locus of control is the dispositional factor, concerning a person's general belief about who or what controls the events in their life. People with an internal locus of control believe that they themselves are responsible for what happens to them through their own effort and decisions, while those with an external locus of control believe that outcomes are determined by luck, fate or powerful others. Internals are thought to resist social influence more effectively for several linked reasons: because they take personal responsibility for their actions, they are less willing to do something they believe is wrong simply because they were told to; they also tend to be more self-confident, more achievement-oriented and less reliant on the approval of others, all of which make them better able to stand against group or authority pressure. The supporting evidence is Holland's replication of Milgram's study, which found that 37% of internals resisted going to the maximum shock compared with only 23% of externals. A measured evaluation notes that the link is real but modest, and that locus of control may have its greatest effect in new or unfamiliar situations, since in familiar situations our past experience tends to guide behaviour regardless of locus of control.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20194 marksExplain how social support can help people to resist conformity and obedience. Refer to research in your answer.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark item (about 2 AO1, 2 AO2). Markers want the mechanism plus supporting evidence.
Social support is the presence of others who also resist the pressure to conform or obey. A dissenting ally breaks the unanimity of the group and provides a model of independent behaviour, which frees the individual to follow their own judgement.
Evidence: in Asch's variations, when one confederate gave the correct answer (an ally), conformity dropped sharply, because the participant was no longer facing a unanimous majority. In Milgram's variations, when a disobedient confederate refused to continue, full obedience fell from 65% to about 10%, because the rebel modelled disobedience and reduced the legitimacy of continuing. A full-mark answer explains how an ally breaks unanimity or models dissent, supported by Asch or Milgram.
AQA 20216 marksDiscuss locus of control as an explanation of resistance to social influence.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark item, roughly 3 AO1 and 3 AO3.
Locus of control (Rotter) is a person's belief about how much control they have over events in their life. People with an internal locus of control believe they control their own behaviour and outcomes, whereas those with an external locus of control believe events are determined by luck or outside forces. Internals are thought to resist social influence better because they take responsibility for their actions, are more self-confident, and are less reliant on others' approval.
Evaluation: Holland reran Milgram's study and found internals were more likely to resist (37% did not continue to the maximum, versus 23% of externals), supporting the link. However, the link is not always strong, and locus of control may matter most in new situations rather than familiar ones where past experience dominates. A full-mark answer defines the concept and gives a balanced evaluation with evidence.
Related dot points
- Types of conformity: internalisation, identification and compliance. Explanations for conformity: informational social influence and normative social influence, and variables affecting conformity including group size, unanimity and task difficulty as investigated by Asch.
Covers AQA 4.1.1 conformity: the three types (internalisation, identification, compliance), the two explanations (ISI and NSI), and Asch's research into group size, unanimity and task difficulty.
- Conformity to social roles as investigated by Zimbardo: the Stanford prison experiment, the power of social roles and situational factors such as deindividuation and loss of personal identity.
Covers AQA 4.1.1 conformity to social roles using Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment, including procedure, findings on the power of social roles, deindividuation and evaluation.
- Obedience as investigated by Milgram, including the baseline procedure and findings, and the situational variables affecting obedience: proximity, location and uniform.
Covers AQA 4.1.2 obedience: Milgram's baseline shock study, the 65% finding, and the situational variables of proximity, location and uniform, with evaluation.
- Explanations for obedience: agentic state and legitimacy of authority, and the dispositional explanation of the Authoritarian Personality as proposed by Adorno.
Covers AQA 4.1.2 explanations for obedience: the agentic state, legitimacy of authority, and Adorno's dispositional Authoritarian Personality, with evaluation.
- Minority influence including reference to consistency, commitment and flexibility; the role of minority influence in social change.
Covers AQA 4.1.4 minority influence: the behavioural styles of consistency, commitment and flexibility, Moscovici's research and how minorities convert the majority.
- The role of social influence processes in social change, including minority influence, internalisation, snowball effect, social cryptomnesia and the role of conformity and obedience.
Covers AQA 4.1.4 social change: how minority influence, conformity (NSI) and obedience drive wider social change, including the snowball effect and social cryptomnesia.
Sources & how we know this
- AQA A-level Psychology (7182) specification — AQA (2015)