Outline and evaluate explanations of resistance to social influence (8 marks)

One explanation of resistance to social influence is social support. This refers to the presence of others who resist pressure to conform or obey, which can encourage an individual to also resist. For example, seeing someone else disobey an authority figure or go against group norms can reduce the pressure to conform. Another explanation is locus of control, proposed by Rotter (1966). People with an internal locus of control believe they are responsible for their own actions and are therefore more likely to resist pressures to conform or obey.

A strength of these explanations is that they are supported by research evidence. For example, Asch found that the presence of a dissenting confederate reduced conformity, while Holland found that individuals with an internal locus of control were more likely to resist orders in a replication of Milgram’s study. This suggests that both social support and locus of control are valid explanations for resistance, increasing their credibility. However, a limitation is that these explanations may be overly simplistic. They do not take into account other important factors such as cultural background, personality traits, or situational context. This means the explanations may not fully account for why resistance occurs in every case, which reduces their overall explanatory power.