WHY do some people RESIST? (Explanations of Resistance to Social Influence) AQA Psychology transcript

Why do some people go along with the crowd while others stand their ground? In our last video, we talked about how figures like Lucius Malfoy reflected the authoritarian personality, always obedient, never questioning authority. But what about the rebels? The people who resist those social pressures. Characters like Harry Sirius and even Neville Longbottom remind us that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stand your ground even when you're outnumbered even when the pressure is intense.

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bear in Mind. Before we dive in, if you're studying A-level psychology, consider joining Bear It in Mind, while you'll find time-saving resources designed to help you study more effectively, including video worksheets on this topic that build your understanding and help you feel more confident going into your exams. The links in the description. Resistance to social influence is the ability to withstand or hold out against the pressure from others.

Remember Ash's conformity experiment? On average, 32% of responses were conforming, which means 68% of people resisted. They trusted their own judgment. In MG's obedience study, 65% went all the way to 450 volts. So, 35% said no despite immense pressure. And what about Hoffling's nurses? 21 out of 22 obeyed, but one nurse resisted. Wouldn't you love to meet her? What gave her the courage to say no? So, in this video, we're asking, what does psychology tell us about the people who resist?

And how can we be more like them? There are two key explanations psychologists have put forward that you need to know. Social support, which is a situational explanation, and locus of control, which is a dispositional explanation. Let's break those down. Social support refers to how the presence of other people who also resist can help you to do the same. They act as models to show us that resistance is possible. We tend to think of resistance as an individual act.

But disobedience and defiance are more likely when others are disobeying too. In other words, resistance is social. Sometimes all it takes is just one other person resisting and suddenly you feel brave enough to resist too. Think about Dumbledore's army in Harry Potter. A perfect example of social support in action. When Harry spoke out against the ministry's lies and Umbrage's rule, he didn't stand alone for long. Others joined.

Not just out of bravery, but because seeing someone else resist made resistance possible. Even Neville Longbottom, who once seemed timid, found strength in numbers. By the end of the series, he's leading the fight. A reminder of how social support can transform the quietest person into a leader. [Music] Let's look at some studies that demonstrate this. In the original Ash study, when everyone in the group gave the wrong answer, on average 32% of participants conformed.

But when Ash added just one dissenter, someone who didn't go along with the majority, conformity dropped to 25%. >> In this variation, Ash gave the naive subject a partner here, seated in the third position, who also gives the correct response. >> One. One, two, one, two. >> Even when that desenter gave a different wrong answer, the effect still happened. Why? Because unonyimity was broken. This gave participants more confidence to trust their own judgment and freed them from the fear of standing alone.

Next is a study by Alan and Lavine. They did an ashtyle experiment, but the denter this time was someone who wore thick glasses and claimed to have poor eyesight. Even though he clearly wasn't reliable, his disagreement with the group still reduced conformity. This shows it's not always about who the denter is. Just having someone resist gives you permission to resist, too. We can also see social support in Mgram's research.

In one variation, the real participant was part of a group of three. two confederates and one naive participant. When the two confederates refused to continue, the obedience rate of the real participant dropped dramatically from 65% to just 10%. Why? Because those disobedient role models gave the participant social support and a model of resistance to follow. This highlights how resistance isn't just about personal conviction, it's also about the situation you're in.

Let's now zoom in from the situation to the individual. Psychologist Julian Roter in 1966 proposed that how likely you are to resist social influence depends on something called your locus of control. Locus of control refers to the amount of control we perceive to have over situations in our lives. Think of it like a sliding scale with one end being internal locus of control and the other external locus of control. People with an internal locus of control believe that they are mostly in control and responsible for what happens to them and that they can succeed in difficult and challenging situations.

People with an external locus of control believe that things are mainly out of their control. They generally feel helpless in difficult and challenging situations. This can often be revealed in our successes and failures. For example, let's say you didn't do as well as you had hoped in your psychology exam. An external locus of control person might say, "It's because my teacher isn't that good or the exam questions were a bit confusing or I just had a bad day." An internal locus of control person in contrast might say, "I need to revise earlier next time.

I didn't manage my time well. Let me ask how my friends revised. Maybe I can try that." So, how does this relate to resisting the pressure to conform and obey? People with an internal locus of control take responsibility. And that mindset makes them more likely to resist social pressure. Why? Because they believe I am responsible for my actions. I don't have to go along with the group. I decide what's right. They're also often more self-confident and have less need for approval.

Both of which help in resisting conformity and obedience. This kind of mindset is exactly what we see in Hermione. Always feeling responsible, always making decisions based on what she believes is right, not what's easy. She's relying on her own judgment, not the pressure or opinion of others. This is a good example of dispositional resistance. It's based on personality, a strong sense of responsibility, confidence in their own decisions, and a belief that their choices actually matter.

Now, let's look at some research into locus of control. First, let's look at Holland study from 1967, which explored locus of control and obedience. Holland basically replicated Mgram's obedience experiment. But before doing the shock task, he measured whether participants had an internal or external locus of control. The results were pretty clear. 37% of people with an internal locus of control refused to go all the way to the maximum shock level.

In contrast, only 23% of those with an external locus of control resisted. This shows us that people with an internal locus of control are more likely to stand up to authority and disobey when necessary. Next, we have a powerful study by Ola and Olena from 1988. They interviewed people who had lived through Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. They compared two groups, 406 individuals who had actively helped rescue Jews and 126 who did not get involved.

The rescuers were much more likely to have an internal locus of control. They believe they could make a difference even in such terrifying and dangerous circumstances. This study highlights how an internal locus of control can drive courageous resistance even under extreme pressure. However, locus of control has been criticized in relation to the way it's measured. This is because it's usually measured using questionnaires including Rotter's scale where participants pick between two statements like this.

What happens to me is my own doing. Sometimes I feel that I don't have much control over my life. These self-report methods can be affected by social desiraability where people answer in ways they think are socially acceptable rather than giving their true thoughts. So although the research is supportive, we should remain cautious about how accurately we're measuring locus of control and how valid the findings are. So we've seen how people resist pressure to conform or obey.

But there's one more piece to the puzzle that's all about the psychology of how just a few individuals can change the views of the many. To watch that, click the video on the screen now. And for more psychology resources, don't forget to check out the Bear It In Mind website. I hope you found this video helpful and we'll see you in the next one.