Lesson 10: Dispositional explanations of resistance to Social influence

Question 1

What did Rotter argue about a person’s personality (in terms of obedience/ conformity)

Answer 1

It determines whether they will conform/obey or RESIST social influence, therefore it is a DISPOSITIONAL explanation

Question 2

What is meant by Locus of control

Answer 2

the EXTENT to which an individual believes they have control over their OWN behaviour

Question 3

What do people with an INTERNAL locus of control believe?

Answer 3

what occurs in their life is a result of their OWN behaviour.

because of this they can alter what happens to them

Question 4

What do people with an EXTERNAL locus of control

Answer 4

what happens in their life is OUTSIDE their control

-what happens in their life is determined by CHANCE or OTHER people so they have no ability to alter it

Question 5

Why are people with an INTERNAL locus on control less likely to obey?
(Hint: Leaders, Approval, confident, control)

Answer 5

1. More likely to be LEADERS than FOLLOWERS
2. Less concerned with SOCIAL approval
3. More self-confident
4. Believe that theyre in control of their own circumstances

Question 6

State a POSITIVE evaluation of locus of control
(Hint: German + sheltered jewish)

Answer 6

OLINER AND OLINER (1988) interviewed 406 German people who had sheltered jewish people from the Nazis during 1930s +1940s. These German people had an INTERNAL locus of control= disobey Nazis

Question 7

State a NEGATIVE evaluation of locus of control
(Hint: assertive vs locus of control)

Answer 7

Williams and Warchal (1981) found that CONFORMERS were less ASSERTIVE than non-conformers but the two groups did NOT score differently on a test to determine their LOCUS of control.

This suggests that level of assertiveness= more important factor THAN locus of control
when determining whether a person will refuse to conform/obey