Outline and evaluate social support as an explanation for resistance to social influence ( 8 marks)

Social support refers to the presence of other people who resist pressures to conform or obey. These individuals act as role models, showing that resistance is possible. In situations involving conformity, the presence of a non-conforming ally can reduce the pressure to go along with the group. In obedience scenarios, seeing someone else disobey an authority figure can give others the confidence to do the same.

One strength of social support as an explanation is that there is research evidence to support it. For example, in Asch’s conformity study, when one confederate gave the correct answer, conformity rates dropped from 75% to just 5%. This shows that having an ally can make people more confident in resisting group pressure, which increases the validity of the explanation.

One limitation is that the explanation is overly simplistic because it doesn’t consider important situational factors, such as the credibility of the support. Research has shown that social support is more effective when the supporter is seen as confident or knowledgeable. This suggests that resistance is not just about the presence of support, but also about how that support is perceived, meaning the explanation lacks depth and may not apply in all situations.