locus of control - dispositional variables

Cards (6)

  • dispositional factors

    individual personality characteristics that affect a person's behavior
  • Locus of control
    A belief about the amount of control a person has over situations in their life.
  • internal locus of control
    the perception that you control your own fate
  • external locus of control
    refers to when consumers believe that fate or other external factors control all outcomes
  • Holland 1967 - supporting locus of control
    Repeated Milgram's baseline study and measured participants to see if they were internal or external locus of control. 37% internal and 23% external did not continue to highest shock level. suggests locus of control can be a valid reason for disobedience.
  • Twenge et al (2004) - contradictory evidence for LOC
    Meta analysis - analysed data from American locus of control studies, conducted over a 40 year period. Data showed over this life span, people became more resistant to obedience but also became ore external which is not expected, so suggest it is not a completely valid reason and may only tell us about resistance in new situations.