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.     

Intrinsic motivation as a function of extrinsic financial rewards and subjects'locus of control

Two studies investigating the effects of pay on the intrinsic motivation of subjects varying along the dimension of locus of control were conducted. It was hypothesized that internals, who should assign greater weight to the competency aspect of rewards they receive, would manifest increasing intrinsic motivation as pay increased. Externals, who should be more likely to focus on the controlling aspects of rewards, were expected to show decreases in intrinsic motivation as rewards increased. In Study 1, where both the controlling and competency aspects of the rewards offered were deliberately kept vague, the hypotheses were supported. In Study 2, where the controlling aspect of the pay offered was made salient by making pay contingent upon performance, high pay undermined the intrinsic motivation of both internals and externals. It was suggested that only when the controlling aspect of pay is not salient will the intrinsic motivation of externals and internals be differentially affected. Support for the hypothesis that internals and externals differentially weight available information when making causal attributions was also noted.     

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.     

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.     

Excuse-making and blaming as a function of internal—external locus of control

Two studies examined differences in excuse-maktg and blaming by subjects with internal or external locus of control. In Study I, 39 internals and 30 externals judged acceptability of various excuses in three situations and also assigned blame for cheating and lying in other situations. Externals were uniformly more prone to use excuses than internals, both for other actors and for themselves. Also, externals tended to assign less blame for cheating and lying. In Study II, 24 internals and 32 externals divided blame among themselves, another person, and ‘no one to blame’ in 10 joint-responsible situations. Externals assigned more blame to the other person and less to themselves, but approximately the same blame to ‘no one’ Externals also had higher tendencies to blame others and were more sensitive to being blamed. These results point to a ‘missing dimension’ of interpersonal relations in studies of excuse-making and blame.     

Defensive externality and blame projection following failure.

This study focuses upon the relationship between internal-external control and defensive blame projection. Trust was used as a moderator variable for making differential predictions concerning the behavior of two subgroups of externals: defensive externals, whose externality is presumed to reflect primarily a verbal technique of defense, and congruent externals, whose externality reflects a more genuine belief that most outcomes are determined by forces beyond their personal control. As predicted, defensive externals showed a stronger tendency than did congruent externals and internals to resort to blame projection following failure at an achievement task. There were no group differences in attribution following task success. Defensive externals were found to be more responsive to negative feedback than were congruent externals.     

Inventory and expressive measures of locus control and academic performance: a 5-year outcome study

Inventory and expressive measures of locus of control were used in a effort to assess their long term potential for predicting academic performance. Thus 45 male graduate students from three diverse major areas and 45 male high ability undergraduates were initially administered Rotter locus of control and Autobiography locus of control scales. Academic data regarding grade point average and baccalaureal or doctoral degree attainment were gathered five years later. The hypotheses were supported to the extent that low to moderate significant correlations were found between the two locus of control scales and subsequent academic performance. The strongest relationships were found between locus of control and graduate degree attainment, with graduate student internals significantly more likely to earn the doctorate within 5-year period than externals. It was speculated that the externals might be a more persistent group, but the internals were more likely to either attain the degree within 5 years, or drop out. And within this study's restricted ability ranges, locus of control personality measures proved to be better predictors of degree attainment than conventional ability scales.     

The usefulness of distinguishing between a defensive and a nondefensive external locus of control

The study's purpose was to determine whether a distinction can be made between individuals adopting an external locus of control as a defense and those adopting the orientation because it reflects their life experience. It was hypothesized that the two groups differ in the amount of personal responsibility they accept for task outcomes. Internals and externals were identified and then further designated as high or low in action taking. Among externals, a high action-taking score implied defensiveness. Subjects randomly received either success or failure feedback on a presumed task of interpersonal sensitivity. Defensive externals varied their causal attributions as a function of outcome, whereas nondefensive externals did not (p < .05). The distinction between defensive and nondefensive external control was thus supported.     

Reactions to threat by defensive and congruent internals and externals: A self-esteem analysis

The hypothesis that vulnerable self-esteem internals and externals would react more defensively to negative intellectual and personality feedback than congruent (more secure self-esteem) internals and externals was investigated in two experiments. The defensive (DE)-congruent (CE) external distinction was strongly confirmed in both cases. In Experiment 1, DEs assumed less personal responsibility for failure than for success, while CEs assumed little personal responsibility for either outcome. Defensive externals performed more poorly than CEs on a task described as an IQ test, suggesting greater anxiety in the face of possible failure. In Experiment 2, DEs rated themselves more favorably and derogated evaluator's competence more than CEs following receipt of negative information regarding their interpersonal skills. Congruent internals (CI) performed more poorly than defensive internals (DI) on the “IQ” task, while male DIs attributed responsibility for outcomes more defensively. It was suggested that a consistently internal view of causation may increase stress in evaluative situations. Implications of these findings for better understanding the relationship between locus of control and maladjustment were discussed, and suggestions for future research were presented.     

Locus of Control and Implicit Memory

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of locus of control on implicit and explicit memory. We hypothesized that internals would rely on semantic processing, externals on perceptual processing. In Experiment 1, 80 college students studied 36 words and completed an implicit memory test in either a consistent or cross-modality condition. The results revealed that externals had higher priming scores than did internals, regardless of modality. In Experiment 2, 80 college students took either an implicit or explicit test. The results again revealed that externals showed higher priming scores than internals. The higher priming scores exhibited by the externals do not necessarily mean that they are more perceptually oriented than the internals are.     

Locus of control and attribution of responsibility for academic performance

This study tested Phares, Wilson, and Klyver's (1971) hypothesis that locus of control differences are unimportant in a situation which provides very explicit cues arousing specific expectancies regarding the locus of blame for poor performance. Two hundred and seventeen undergraduate students (134 men and 83 women) completed Rotter's I-E Scale as part of classwork in midsemester. During the last week of the semester they were routinely administered a questionnaire containing items on course evaluation, instructor evaluation, and expected grade. Expected grade was significantly correlated with ratings on several course evaluation and instructor evaluation items for internals and externals in the male, female, and total samples. However, these correlations were not significantly different for internals and externals in each sample. These results provided strong empirical support for the tested hypothesis.     

Change over training sessions of relationship between locus of control and voluntary heart-rate control.

The present study investigated the effects of locus of control on learning to accelerate and decelerate heart over a number of training sessions. 15 Ss who scored internal in locus of control and 15 who scored external were trained to change their heart rates. Ss were given two training sessions in speeding heart rate and two in slowing heart rate. Results indicated that during the initial training sessions, internals were better able to increase their heart rates than externals; the externals were better able to decrease their heart rates than internals. However, this association diminished to nonsignificance when additional training sessions were provided. These results argue for routinely conducting a number of training sessions to avoid any premature statement of a relationship between personaltiy measures and learned control of heart rate.     

Defensive externality and its relation to academic performance.

This study examined the relationship between locus of control and academic performance by evaluating the academic achievement of defensive externals, which has been considered a confounding factor in previous research. A further objective was an examination of the effect of two mediating variables in their relation to locus of control and academic performance. One hundred sixty college students were administered the Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance scales, the Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, and the Achievement via Independence/via Conformance scales. Obtained results demonstrated that internals were academically superior to both defensive and congruent externals. Defensive externals were shown to have higher grade point averages than congruent externals, and female defensive externals achieved greater academic success than their male counterparts. Further results suggested that the relationship between locus of control and academic performance may not be a direct one but may be modified by specific mediating variables.     

Locus of control and voluntary heart-rate change.

Investigated the effects of locus of control on voluntary control of heart-rate change. The 32 subjects were randomly assigned to one of two heart-rate change groups: Increase or decrease. The groups were counterbalanced for locus of control and sex. No heart-rate feedback was provided to subjects, and all subjects performed the appropriate task for two sessions. Results indicated that during the initial session, internals were better able to increase their heart-rates than externals; the externals were better able to decrease their heart-rates internals. This association, however, diminished to nonsignificance in the second session.     

Learned helplessness and learned effectiveness: effects of explicit response cues on individuals differing in personal control expectancies

Female undergraduates (n = 62) who scored as extreme internals or externals on the Mirels Personal Fate Control Scale participated in a partial replication of Hiroto's learned helplessness experiment. Lights were added to the treatment apparatus, which made explicit to subjects the contingency or noncontingency between their responses and the termination of an aversive tone. As predicted, the performance of internals was significantly impaired by uncontrollability (learned helplessness), while that of externals was facilitated by controllability (learned effectiveness). Externals performed as well as internals in the "escapable" condition, but their performance was inferior to that of internals in the control condition. Following "inescapable" treatment, internals performed worse than externals. These results are supportive of Lefcourt's theory of cue explication. Implications for locus of control and learned helplessness research are discussed.     

Internal external control of reinforcement as a determinant of study habits and academic attitudes

This study tested Rotter's hypothesis that internals would show more achievement-striving behaviors than externals using a direct measure of such behavior. Rotter's I-E scale and the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA) were administered to 123 male and 130 female undergraduate subjects. Significant sex differences were found on the SSHA scales but not on the I-E scale. Results indicated significant differences between internals and externals within each sex in terms of the average SSHA profiles and the individual SSHA scales. Using H. L. Mirels' (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1970, 34, 226–228) I-E subscales, similar results were obtained with the personal-control scale but not the political-control scale. Results provide additional evidence supporting the multidimensional interpretation of the I-E scale.     

Children in Conflict (Book)

Inventory and expressive measures of locus of control were used in a effort to assess their long term potential for predicting academic performance. Thus 45 male graduate students from three diverse major areas and 45 male high ability undergraduates were initially administered Rotter locus of control and Autobiography locus of control scales. Academic data regarding grade point average and baccalaureal or doctoral degree attainment were gathered five years later. The hypotheses were supported to the extent that low to moderate significant correlations were found between the two locus of control scales and subsequent academic performance. The strongest relationships were found between locus of control and graduate degree attainment, with graduate-student internals significantly more likely to earn the doctorate within 5-year period than externals. It was speculated that the externals might be a more persistent group, but the internals were more likely to either attain the degree within 5 years, or drop out. And within this study's restricted ability ranges, locus of control personality measures proved to be better predictors of degree attainment than conventional ability scales.     

Explanation, imagination, and confidence in judgment.

This article concerns a class of experimental manipulations that require people to generate explanations or imagine scenarios. A review of studies using such manipulations indicates that people who explain or imagine a possibility then express greater confidence in the truth of that possibility. It is argued that this effect results from the approach people take in the explanation or imagination task: They temporarily assume that the hypothesis is true and assess how plausibly it can account for the relevant evidence. From this view, any task that requires that a hypothesis be treated as if it were true is sufficient to increase confidence in the truth of that hypothesis. Such tasks cause increased confidence in the hypothesis at the expense of viable alternatives because of changes in problem representation, evidence evaluation, and information search that take place when the hypothesis is temporarily treated as if it were true.     

Locus of Control and Voluntary Heart-Rate Change

Summary: Investigated the effects of locus of control on voluntary control of heart-rate change. The 32 subjects were randomly assigned to one of two heart-rate change groups: Increase or decrease. The groups were counterbalanced for locus of control and sex. No heart-rate feedback was provided to subjects, and all subjects performed the appropriate task for two sessions. Results indicated that during the initial session, internals were better able to increase their heart-rates than externals; the externals were better able to decrease their heart-rates than internals. This association, however, diminished to nonsignificance in the second session.     

Ratings of Perceived Exertion by Women with Internal or External Locus of Control

Ratings of perceived exertion are frequently used to estimate the strain and effort experienced subjectively by individuals during various forms of physical activity. A number of factors, both physiological and psychological in origin, have been suggested to work as modifiers of the exertion perceived by the individual. It has been reported in non-sport-related research that individuals with an internal locus of control seem to pay more attention to relevant information and use the available information more adequately than individuals with an external locus of control. The reputed inferior information-processing abilities of externals compared with internals could possibly also influence the ratings of perceived exertion, with externals being less accurate in their ratings. Whether locus of control might be such a factor was investigated. Fifty women worked on an ergometer cycle at four different work loads. The results showed statistically significant differences in subjective ratings of perceived exertion between externals and internals, especially at heavier work loads. Such differences might be because of unequal information-processing abilities, as the observed discrepancies occurred at higher work intensities, when more cues are available for processing.