About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about dispositional influences, focusing in particular on: (i) the key consideration that people differ from one another in any variety of ways, labelled as individual differences; (ii) gender as a factor which impacts resistance to influence, whereby the socialisation of male and female gender roles creates differences in tendencies to be disobedient or to not conform; (iii) a preference for order and structure as a factor which impacts resistance to influence, including an authoritarian personality type as one example; (iv) the preference for order which could be rooted in a desire to not have to think through every action and decision; (v) the impact that having an internal or external locus of control has on conformity and obedience.

About the lecturer

Professor Gordon Sammut is a visiting fellow in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Professor Sammut’s research interests are in intercultural and intergroup relations, the theory of social representations and modalities of social influence. Some of Professor Sammut’s recent publications include 'The Psychology of social Influence: Modes and Modalities of Shifting Common Sense' (2021) and '‘Social Re-presentation for…’: An Action-Oriented Formula for Intergroup Relations Research' (2020).