Self-esteem,locus of control,and task difficulty as determinants of task performance

One hundred twenty-six high school students responded to questionnaire measures of chronic self-esteem (CSE), task-specific self-esteem (TSSE), and locus of control of reinforcements (L of C) and were given a list of anagrams to solve that varied in level of task difficulty (TD). L of C and (to a lesser extent) TSSE were each related to task performance (TP), multiple R = .51 (p < .01). CSE was not related to TP. The overall relationships of TSSE and L of C with TP were each moderated significantly by TD. The results are discussed in terms of a gradual specification of the “boundary conditions” within which cognitive consistency theory and social learning theory may be applicable.