Lesson 10 Dispositional Factors of Resistance to Social Influence Flashcards
What is locus of control
Rotter (1966) argued that a person’s personality determines whether they will conform/obey or resist social influence, it is therefore a dispositional explanation. A person’s locus of control refers to the extent to which they believe they have control over their own behaviour. Locus of control is measured on a dimension from internal to external.
What is an internal locus of control
People with an internal locus of control believe that what occurs in their life is the result of their own behaviour and actions. They can therefore alter what happens to them. If they do badly on a test, for example, they consider it to be the result of their own inadequate revision. People with an internal locus of control will agree with statements such as ‘misfortune is usually brought about by people’s own actions’
What is an external locus of control
People with an external locus of control believe strongly that what happens in their lives is outside of their control. They think what 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 largely due to bad luck’.
Why are people less likely to conform if they have a high internal locus of control
- Are more likely to be leaders rather than followers
- Are less concerned with social approval
- Are more self confident
- Believe that they control their own circumstances
Oliner and Oliner (1988)
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) supports locus of control as
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.
Williams and Warchal (1981)
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.
