Dispositional Explanations For Resistance to Social Influence Flashcards
What did rotter argue
He argued that a persons personality determines whether they will conform or obey or resist social influence. Hence why it is a dispositional factor. A persons locus of control refers to the extent to which they believe that they have control over their own behaviour. It’s measured from internal to external
What do people with internal locus of control believe?
They believe that whatever occurs in their life is a result of their own behaviour and actions. Therefore they can alter what happens to them. For example if they do bad on a test, they will consider it to be a result of inadequate revision. They will agree with statements such as misfortune is usually brought by peoples own action.
What do people with external believe?
They strongly believe that whatever happens to their lives is out of their control and that whatever occurs In their lives is determined by chance or other people, so they have no ability to alter it. If they do badly on a test, they will blame it on bad luck or inadequate teachers. They will agree with statements such as things that make us unhappy are due to bad luck
Characteristics of people with high internal that make them less likely to obey?
1) more likely to be leaders than followers
2) less concerned with social approval
3) more self confident
4) believe that they control their own circumstances
Strengths Locus of Control
+ Oliner and Oliner (1988) interviewed 406 German people who had sheltered Jewish people from the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s. These German people had an internal locus of control, which had allowed them to disobey the Nazis.
+ Milgram (1974) asked participants to deliver electric shocks to a confederate, Mr. Wallace, when he got a question wrong. The shocks were not real, but the
participants believed they were. 65%of participants obeyed and shocked Mr. Wallace up to 450 volts. Milgram (1974) gave the participants a questionnaire to measure their locus of control and found that the 35%who had disobeyed were far more likely to have an internal locus of control than those who had obeyed.
Weaknesses Locus of Control
-Williams and Warchal (1981) found that conformers were less assertive than non-conformers but that the two groups did not score differently on a test to determine their locus of control. This suggests that assertiveness is more important than locus of control in determining whether or not a person will refuse to conform/obey.
