Development and Validation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit–S)

Two experiments investigated the possibility that external statements in the Rotter I-E scale are more depressing in tone than internal statements, and thus depressed subjects may respond to external items due to item mood level rather than locus of control content. Results of Experiment 1 revealed that the external alternative was rated as more depressing than its internal counterpart for the majority Of the 23 I-E items (18 for females and 15 for males), while a small number of I-E items (3 for females and 6 for males) contained internal and external statements rated as balanced for depressing Content. For two I-E items the internal alternative was rated as more depressing. Results of Experiment 2 revealed that endorsement of external items was significantly related to self-reported depression for both total I-E score and for the item subset where external statements(as revealed in Experiment 1) were the more depressing of the item pair. External endorsement was not significantly related to depression for the I-E item subset where options are balanced for mood level, while endorsement of internal statements was related to depression only for the item subset where the internal option was rated as more depressing. These results were interpreted as supporting prior research which demonstrated mood response set using altered Rotter I-E scale items, Implications for use of the Rotter I-E scale in the study of depression were discussed.     

Dimensionality of three adult, objective locus of control scales

Summary: The current conceptualization of the locus of control construct as unidimensional was challenged. The Rotter I-E scale, James I-E scale, and Adult Nowicki-Strickland I-E scale were examined with regard to their reported psychometric properties. The three scales were factor analyzed using a principal components method with varimax rotation. Results indicated a multifactor makeup for the three scales. It was suggested that attempts to measure a generalized expectancy for control be abandoned and that, instead, measurement attempts focus on the development of instruments specific to the behavioral and situational domains for which behavioral understanding, prediction, and control are sought.     

Three measures of locus of control: what do they measure?

The Rotter, Adult Nowicki-Strickland, and Levenson IE scales were completed by 175 undergraduate students. Factor analyses reconfirmed the factor structure of the Levenson IE scale. Partial correlation analyses showed that the portion of common variance shared by the Rotter IE and the Adult Nowicki-Strickland IE scales associated closely with Levenson's Chance factor. These findings support a multi-dimensional view of locus of control attribution.     

Interpersonal Dependency Correlates and Locus of Control Orientation Among Obese Adults in Outpatient Treatment for Obesity

Interpersonal dependency and locus of control orientation were studied in obese and nonobese samples. The Interpersonal Dependency Inventory (Hirschfeld, Klerman, Gough, Barrett, & Korchin, 1977) and the I-E Scale (Rotter, 1966) were administered to 106 obese adults in outpatient treatment for obesity. The I-E Scale was also administered to 97 nonobese control subjects. As predicted, the obese subjects were significantly more internally oriented than has been previously identified in obese populations. These findings challenge currently held assumptions about locus of control in obese groups. Although the obese and nonobese subjects maintained similar overall dependency scores, the obese subjects were more likely to show low levels of autonomy in comparison with the nonobese subjects. Interpersonal dependency and locus of control dimensions associated with obese conditions may serve as useful predictor variables influencing obesity treatment approaches and outcome.     

Comparison of two locus of control scales in predicting relapse in an alcoholic population

A 3-mo. follow-up was made of 64 male veterans who were discharged from a 21-day Alcohol Detoxification Treatment Program at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Lyons, NJ. Scores on the Rotter I-E and Alcohol Responsibility Scales were significantly correlated with tendencies toward a more external direction among the 13% who relapsed, significant on the I-E scale and nonsignificant on the Alcohol Responsibility Scale. When tests were compared as possible predictor variables of alcoholic relapse, the difference in favor of the I-E scale was statistically nonsignificant.     

Unidirectional Mazes for Studying Human Learning

The purpose of this study was to determine if academic performance affects locus of control scores. Twenty-one college students were randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group by sex. The treatment group received mnemonic training enabling them to score better than the control group. The treatment group had significantly more internal scores than the control group with the Rotter Locus of Control Scale but not with the Nowicki-Strickland I-E Scale.     

Locus of control and effects of perceptual tasks on heart rate

The hypothesis was tested that the relationship found in prior research between heart rate changes produced in biofeedback settings and locus of control scores derives from the heart-brain relationship described by the Laceys in 1967, as well as from "expectancies for control." 48 subjects were tested on two perceptual tasks known to elicit changes in heart rate. Significant heart rate changes were observed in response to both tasks, but those changes did not correlate with locus of control as measured by scores on the Rotter I-E Scale and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale. Explanations for these results are offered.     

College students who wear watches: locus of control and motivational sources

119 undergraduate college students were administered the Rotter I-E Scale and the Motivation Sources Inventory. Scores were compared for a group of 66 students who were wearing watches and 53 students who were not wearing watches. The former had higher scores on External locus of control and higher scores on a measure of Instrumental Motivation as anticipated.     

Dimensionality and reliability of the Rotter I-E locus of control scale

The dimensionality and reliability of Rotter's internal-external control scale was examined using Australian students. The results imply that the scale is not additive but multidimensional. Two distinct largely independent factors relating to personal and political control beliefs were extracted. General control concerns the belief that a person has mastery over his own life while political control includes items which measure the extent to which an individual is capable. of having an influence on political institutions or the course of world affairs. On retesting, 8 of the 9 General Control items loaded on the same first factor. All 5 of the Political Control items loaded on the second factor. Test-retest reliability of the I-E scale was .61. These results suggest that the Rotter Scale itself, and its two factor structure, are stable over a considerable period of time.     

Validity of the Internal-External Scale in its relationship with political position

The study was designed to interpret previous reports of a relationship between left wing political position and externality on Rotter's (1966) Internal-External (I-E) Scale. I-E items phrased in the first person were associated with a criterion measure of locus of control, and externality on the scale predicted inferior performance in a skill-controlled task. However, political position was related to neither the criterion measure of locus of control nor to successful performance in a skill-controlled task. Thus, there was no evidence that political position was related to locus of control in spite of its relationship with the I-E Scale. There was discussion of implications for the validity of the I-E Scale and for studying relationships between personality and political variables.     

Validity of the Internal-External Scale in Its Relationship with Political Position

The study was designed to interpret previous reports of a relationship between left wing political position and externality on Rotter's (1966) Internal-External (I-E) Scale. I-E items phrased in the first person were associated with a criterion measure of locus of control, and externality on the scale predicted inferior performance in a skill-controlled task. However, political position was related to neither the criterion measure of locus of control nor to successful performance in a skill-controlled task. Thus, there was no evidence that political position was related to locus of control in spite of its relationship with the I-E Scale. There was discussion of implications for the validity of the I-E Scale and for studying relationships between personality and political variables.     

Locus of control and behavior in treatment groups.

Studied the Rotter Locus of Control scale for effective prediction of behavior in small groups. Subjects were 205 male VA Hospital patients participating in self-directed groups who completed the AGCT, Psychological and Somatic Symptom Scales, and Rotter's I-E measure of locus of control. Group behavior was measured through sociometry and a Group Member Evaluation form. Three hypotheses were not supported: (a) Persons scoring high in the direction of internal control (internals) will be more likely to act to influence their social environment; (b) internals will be more active than externals in gathering and processing information in group discussions, and (c) internals will be more self-directed and less susceptible to being influenced by others. Two hypotheses were supported: (a) externals will express more somatic and psychological complaints than internals, and (b) externals will be perceived as behaving more defensively than internals. In contrast, intelligence was correlated with a large number of group process measures. Locus of control and intelligence measures predict different kinds of behavior in groups.     

Daydreaming: a measurable concept

Research has been reported which supports the psychometric properties of the Imaginal Processes Inventory. The purpose was to confirm and extend this research as well as investigate the interrelationships between daydreaming and depression, locus of control, and visual imagery. This inventory (7 scales), Beck Depression Inventory, Rotter Locus of Control Scale (I-E), and Gordon's Test of Visual Imagery Control were administered to 100 female undergraduates. A sample of 39 subjects were retested on the scales an average of 6.8 wk. after the first administration. Correlations with Imaginal Processes Inventory and test-retest data were consistent with Giambra's (1977) findings for males and support the reliability and generalizability of the scores. Other results include significant intercorrelations between the various scales of this inventory and the others. Implications for an understanding of the process of depression are discussed.     

A paradoxical prediction from locus of control

Individual differences in attribution have been little researched. Beliefs about locus of control have been taken to be stable and important differences between people. They may provide some of the background assumptions on which people base their explanations of actions, especially insofar as these explanations imply that the cause of an action was within the agent or his environment, and that the action was or was not under the agent's control. Respondents were therefore asked to fill in Rotter and Levenson locus of control questionnaires and to provide explanations or ask questions about several actions. It was hypothesized that internals would be inclined to go for explanations which were personal and implied high control, while externals would not. However, what emerged was the paradoxical finding that internals provided explanations which implied that the causes of the actions lay outside the agent, while externals provided ones which implied that the causes lay within. This result is discussed in terms of the difference between actions and outcomes, and the possibility that an important difference between people may be in the rigidity and simplicity of their beliefs about causality.     

Some Factors Operating at the Moment of Resumption of Interrupted Tasks

The present investigation examined the relationship between college students' locus of control and attitudes toward energy conservation. It was predicted that the more external orientation would relate to the person's belief that energy resources were controlled by powerful others whose manipulation created energy shortage, and personal conservation would not help the situation. The present study also compared 1977 students' reactions to the Warren Commission Report to those of the sixties, to study changing attitudes among college students. Three hundred forty-seven male and female college students were administered the Rotter I-E scale and a questionnaire that included items dealing with energy and the Warren Commission Report. Analysis of variance supported the hypothesis: males were found to be more internal than females, and those who believed in energy shortage and conservation were more internal than those who believed otherwise. A similar analysis of the responses to the Warren Report showed no significant effects. Comparison of 1977 students to those of the sixties noted significantly more external orientation and increased attitudes of disbelief.     

The relation between the locus of control construct and involvement in traffic accidents

We investigated the relation between the Rotter (1966) locus of control concept and involvement in automobile accidents. Subjects were 184 college students who completed a survey measuring accident involvement, the Rotter scale, and scales featuring beliefs and behaviors in traffic situations that would be expected from internally oriented persons. No significant relation was found between the Rotter scale and traffic accidents. Accident involvement was best explained by internal beliefs about accident control, and the reported number of near-miss accidents per week. A path diagram relating survey variables is included.     

The Relation Between the Locus of Control Construct and Involvement in Traffic Accidents

We investigated the relation between the Rotter (1966) locus of control concept and involvement in automobile accidents. Subjects were 184 college students who completed a survey measuring accident involvement, the Rotter scale, and scales featuring beliefs and behaviors in traffic situations that would be expected from internally oriented persons. No significant relation was found between the Rotter scale and traffic accidents. Accident involvement was best explained by internal beliefs about accident control, and the reported number of near-miss accidents per week. A path diagram relating survey variables is included.     

Response preference within the Rotter I-E Scale: perceived locus of control of self, average, and ideal others

The Rotter I-E scale was administered to college juniors in education under five different instructional sets. Subjects were asked to complete it (a) as they would ordinarily (self-perception), (b) as they believed an average person of the same sex would, (c) as an average person of the opposite sex would, (d) as an ideal person of the same sex would, and (e) as an ideal person of the opposite sex would. As hypothesized, subjects saw the ideal person of both sexes as significantly more internal than themselves, while they saw the average person of both sexes as more external than themselves. These results suggest the general desirability of being perceived as internally oriented.     

A system for assessing personal responsibility: validity, reliability and rater trainability

Summary: Sixty-two subjects completed the California Psjrchological Inventory, the Rotter External-Internal locus of control scale and an audio-taped discussion of their personal problems. The audio-taped problems were rated on a five-point level of personal responsibility scale and were compared wi.th the scores on the California Personality Inventory and the Internal-External locus of control scale in a correlation matrix which was subjected to a factor analysis. The results from these analyses suppovted the hypothesis that the Personal Responsibility Rating System has construct validity as a measure of psychological health. Study I1 assessed the trainability of the Personal Responsibility System. With a four-hour training program it was found that graduate students could be taught to rate personal responsibility in a reliable manner.