Personality Correlates of Student Commitment to Social Action

Student commitment to social action during a student confrontation was evaluated in terms of perceived locus of control, interpersonal trust, and need for social approval. Results showed that position, pro or con, regarding the free speech issue was not related to personality measures. Need for social approval was strongly related to commitment; Ss low in need approval indicated most commitment. Internals, relative to externals, showed only a tendency toward greater commitment. Internals low in need for approval expressed most commitment to social action, while externals high in need for approval showed least commitment. Contrary to expectations, interpersonal trust did not interact with locus of control, nor was it directly related to level of commitment to social action.