A taxonomic study of aggression in institutionalized delinquents

The taxonomy of aggressive behavior has been studied by many social scientists. In the present study this topic is approached empirically. A group of convicts were asked to quantify pairwise dissimilarity among aggressive social situations. The data obtained were processed by Multidimensional Scaling. The results show the necessity of taking into account 3 dimensions (justifiability, instrumentality and degree of involvement with the victim) in distinguishing among aggressive episodes. This finding is discussed in terms of cultural differences, and the usefulness of the perception of aggressive episodes as a basis for a taxonomic system is proposed.     

Future orientation of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized delinquents and nondelinquents

The present study is an analysis of the relationship between delinquency, institutionalization and future orientation, based on a social-learning theoretical framework. Two hundred and forty male adolescents (institutionalized and noninstitutionalized delinquents and nondelinquents) answered open and structured questions concerning their anticipations and evaluations of the future. The data were analysed by analyses of variance and t-tests and partly confirm the hypotheses: Delinquents structure their future in a less differentiated, less extended, and more internal way than nondelinquents. This was especially true for the institutionalized delinquents. However, delinquents structured their fears concerning their personal development more extensively than nondelinquents. Future orientation varied according to the length of institutionalization in different domains of life. These results do not support the dominant assumption of the literature that delinquents have an unrealistic future orientation. Rather, it is shown here that institutionalized delinquents anticipate rather negative future events which they expect to occur shortly after the time of their release. However, the present results have to be cautiously interpreted on account of the special selection of the sample and the rather short duration of institutionalization. Also, the method of a differentiated measurement of future orientation used here is hardly practiced in the literature though such a conceptualization as a multidimensional construct seems to be theoretically fruitful.     

The mediation effects of achievement motivation and locus of control between academic stress and life satisfaction in undergraduate students

This study investigated the mediation effect of locus of control and achievement motivation between academic stress and life satisfaction. A total of 307 undergraduate students recruited from a Hispanic Serving Institution in South Texas participated in the study. In the frame of the study, two mediation models were tested by utilising PROCESS Procedure for SPSS (Hayes, 2013. Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press). The results indicated that bivariate correlations among study variables ranged from ?.24 to .32. The overall composite indicated that academic stress contributed to 6% of the variance in life satisfaction (p?b?=??.06), while the mediating effect of locus of control contributed to 10% of the variance in Life Satisfaction (p?b?=??.4).     

Teacher''s locus of control and student achievement gains

Ten female fifth-grade teachers, 40 fifth-grade males, and 40 fifth-grade females were classified as internal or external (locus of control) on the basis of their scores on Rotter's (1966) Internal-External (I-E) Control Scale and the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire (Crandall, Katkovsky, & Preston, 1962). Measures of students' achievement and intelligence were obtained from the California Test Bureau's Short Form Test of Academic Aptitude (1970) and the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (1968). The major finding of the study was that both male and female students, regardless of their locus of control, gained more on the achievement measure under internal teachers than under external teachers.     

Anxiety and locus of conflict in delinquents

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) and the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (CMAS) were administered to 54 juvenile delinquents (27 males, 27 females). Ratings on locus of conflict were also obtained. The STAIC A-State scale was significantly correlated with internalization but not with externalization or the total maladjustment index. Neither A-Trait nor the anxiety portion of the CMAS was correlated with locus of conflict. All measures of anxiety were significantly correlated with each other. Boys were rated as more internal, external, and maladjusted than girls despite the fact that girls reported more subjectively experienced anxiety.     

Locus of control and academic achievement in high school students

This study investigated the hypothesized relationship between internal locus of control and academic achievement among a sample of 187 students in Grades 8 through 12 using the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children. Analysis indicated that students in the higher GPA group reported higher scores on internal locus of control.     

Relating locus of control to Machiavellianism and managerial achievement

Rotter's Locus of Control Scale, Christie and Geis' Mach IV Scale, and Fineman's Work Preference Questionnaire were administered to a sample of 60 retail specialty store managers. While there were no significant correlations between locus of control and managerial achievement, there were significant correlations between locus of control and Machiavellianism for the over-all sample and for men but not for women. In addition, men possessed higher mean internal-control orientation than women.     

Competition-cooperation as a mediator of locus of control and achievement

To test the hypothesis that internals will achieve more than externals in situations where competition is preeminent but not where cooperation is required, 300 children completed a digit-symbol task and a locus of control scale. Children were divided into internals and externals, placed in situations varying in competition and cooperation, and readministered the digit-symbol task. While the general hypothesis was supported, it was found that externals increased from their significantly low performance in the competitive situation to equal performance with internals in the cooperative situation. These findings are discussed in terms of their meaning for social learning theory and their relevance for the potential development of classroom teaching methods for increasing achievement behavior.