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Identify Whether Each of the Statements Below Represents Internal or External Locus of Control

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1. Identify whether each of the statements below represents internal or external locus of control.
(4 marks)
A. Children get into trouble because parents punish them too much. – External
B. People’s misfortunes are the result of the mistakes they make. – Internal
C. In the long run, people get the respect they deserve in this world. – Internal
D. No matter how hard you try, some people just don’t like you. – External

2. What is meant by the term locus of control?
(2 marks)
Locus of control refers to the sense of control people have over successes, failures and events in their lives. It is measured on a scale; people with high internal locus of control largely feel that their actions are their own choice, while those with high external locus of control see their actions are controlled through luck or fate. 3. How does locus of control affect:
(2 marks)

(A) Conformity It has been proven that those who score higher on external locus of control are more easily persuaded and likely to conform than those with a lower score; this proves that a person’s level of locus of control can affect them when it comes to conforming. (2 marks) (B) Obedience Milgram’s study (1963) highlights the idea of obedience and that people are more likely to follow orders from an authority. Locus of control affects obedience as the participants may have blamed themselves for harming a person if they have a high internal locus of control or they will have a high external locus of control, meaning they blame the authority who told them to carry on. 4. Jason never takes responsibility for his actions and will often blame others for mistakes that he has made. In school, Jason misbehaves, especially when other members of the class egg him on. (a) Identify whether Jason has internal or external locus of control (1 mark) Jason has external locus of control, as he blames others for his mistakes. (b) Using your knowledge of individual differences on independent behavior, explain why Jason might be less likely to resist conforming to his classmates. (3 marks)

Jason might be less likely to resist conforming to his classmates because he is able to resist pressures to conform or obey to others, this may be because of his gender, personality or culture. Everyone has a different level of control based on their locus of control, if Jason had a lower external locus of control he would be less likely to conform.

5. Discuss the influence of individual differences on independent behaviour. (12 marks)

Individual differences are personal factors that mean people respond to situations in different ways. In context of independent behaviour, they are personal factors that make some people more able to resist pressures to conform or obey than others. Milgram’s study (1963) argued that people will obey an authority figure because of the situation they are in. He found that having the authority figure in close proximity to the person receiving orders made them more likely to obey.

Rotter (1966) introduced the concept of locus of control as a type of personality; people with an internal locus of control believe that what happen to them are consequences of their own actions. While people with an external locus of control believe what happens to them is controlled by things such as luck or fate and that they are helpless in difficult or stressful situations.

Holland (1967) used Milgram’s study (1963) to investigate the link between locus of control and obedience; however, they found no relationship. In 1991 Blass reanalysed Holland’s data and found that people with an internal locus of control were more likely to resist obeying than those with an external locus of control. Participants with an internal locus of control were especially resistant to obedience if they suspected they were being manipulated by the experimenter. Blass also reviewed many studies of locus of control and independent behaviour, they found out that there was no clear link between the two as many studies supported a link and others found no link. Although, there is evidence that people with an internal locus of control are more able to resist pressures to obey than those with an external locus of control.

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