Lesson 10: Dispositonal Explainations Of Resistance To Social Influence

Question 1

What did Rotter (1966) argue?

Answer 1

• that a persons personality determines whether they will conform to, or resist, social influence (Dispositional explanations)

Question 2

What is a locus of control?

Answer 2

• refers to the extent to which one believes they have control over their own behaviour
• it is measured on a dimension from internal to external

Question 3

What do people with an Internal Locus of Control believe?

Answer 3

• they believe that what occurs in their life is a result of their own behaviours/actions
• they believe they can therefore alter what happens to them
• e.g failing a test and blaming themselves for not revising enough

Question 4

What do people with an External Locus of Control believe?

Answer 4

• They believe that what happens in their lives is outside their control
• They believe it is determined by chance of other people and so cannot alter it
• e.g failing a test because of bad luck or bad teachers

Question 5

Which kind of people are less likely to conform? Why?

Answer 5

• People with a high internal locus of control are less likely to conform.
  BECAUSE
• They are more likely to be leaders than followers
• They are less concerned with social approval
• They are more self-confident
• They believe that they control their own circumstances

Question 6

Evaluation of Locus of Control (+)

Answer 6

• Oliner&Oliner (1988) interviewed 406 Germans who sheltered Jews from the Nazis. They had an internal locus of control, allowing them to disobey the Nazis
• Milgram (1974) had 35% of people who had disobeyed. They are likely to have an internal locus of control

Question 7

Evaluation of Locus of Control (-)

Answer 7

• Williams&Warchal (1981) found conformed were less assertive than non-conformers, but both groups scored similarly on their locus of control tests, suggesting assertiveness is more important than locus of control in determining whether one will obey/conform