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{{Short description|Concept in psychology}}
'''] of control theory''' is a concept in between psychology and sociology, related to where individuals conceptually place responsibility, choice, and control for events in their lives. It distinguishes between two common approaches, which place the actual control either internal or external to the person themselves. This decision, which is not usually within ], strongly influences ] and a sense of self direction and psychological ] on the one hand (if seen as something within the control of the person themselves), and supports notions of helplessness, blame, and lack of psychological ] on the other (if seen as something held by others or by some outside agency).
{{About|Locus of control|other uses| Locus (disambiguation){{!}} Locus|}}
]
'''Locus of control''' is the degree to which people believe that they, as opposed to external forces (beyond their influence), have control over the outcome of events in their lives. The concept was developed by ] in 1954, and has since become an aspect of ]. A person's "]" (plural "loci", Latin for "place" or "location") is conceptualized as internal (a ] that one can control one's own life) or external (a belief that life is controlled by outside factors which the person can not influence, or that chance or ] controls their lives).<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/h0092976 |title=Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement |journal=Psychological Monographs: General and Applied |volume=80 |pages=1–28 |year=1966 |last1=Rotter |first1=Julian B |issue=1 |pmid=5340840 |s2cid=15355866 }}</ref>


Individuals with a strong internal locus of control believe events in their life are primarily a result of their own actions: for example, when receiving an exam result, people with an internal locus of control tend to praise or blame themselves and their abilities. People with a strong external locus of control tend to praise or blame external factors such as the teacher or the difficulty of the exam.<ref name="Carlson, N.R. 2007">Carlson, N.R., et al. (2007). Psychology: The Science of Behaviour - 4th Canadian ed.. Toronto, ON: Pearson Education Canada.{{page needed|date=August 2018}}</ref>
Although popularly associated with Julian Rotter after his publication in ''Psychological Monographs'' where he outlined his now classic "locus of control" scale (1966), work on locus of control actually predates Rotter's paper, as Lefcourt's (1966) review of the same year clarifies. Its roots can be found in the work on typical and atypical expectancy shifts carried out by psychologists in the ].


{{anchor|Summary, critique and the future}}
==History of concept==
Locus of control has generated much research in a variety of areas in ]. The construct is applicable to such fields as ], ], ], and ]. Debate continues whether domain-specific or more global measures of locus of control will prove to be more useful in practical application. Careful distinctions should also be made between locus of control (a personality variable linked with generalized expectancies about the future) and ] (a concept concerning explanations for past outcomes), or between locus of control and concepts such as ].
Although locus of control has frequently been viewed as a ] model of ], its roots can actually be seen in ] as the immediate background to this theory related to beliefs about ]. Indeed, Lefcourt (1976) defined perceived locus of control as follows: "Perceived control is defined as a generalised expectancy for internal as opposed to external control of reinforcements" (Lefcourt 1976, p27). Early work on the topic of expectancies about control of reinforcement had, as Lefcourt explains, been performed in the 1950s by James and in work which Phares prepared for an unpublished doctoral dissertation at the ].<ref>cited in Lefcourt, 1976</ref> Attempts have been made to trace the genesis of the concept to the work of ], but its immediate background lies in the work of psychologists such as William H. James (not to be confused with ]), who studied two types of ''expectancy shifts'':


Locus of control is one of the four dimensions of ] – one's fundamental appraisal of oneself – along with ], ], and ].<ref name=Judge1997>{{cite journal |last1=Judge |first1=T. A. |last2=Locke |first2=E. A. |last3=Durham |first3=C. C. |year=1997 |title=The dispositional causes of job satisfaction: A core evaluations approach |journal=Research in Organizational Behavior |volume=19 |pages=151–188 }}</ref> The concept of core self-evaluations was first examined by Judge, Locke, and Durham (1997), and since has proven to have the ability to predict several work outcomes, specifically, ] and ].<ref name="dorman2006">{{cite journal |last1=Dormann |first1=C. |last2=Fay |first2=D. |last3=Zapf |first3=D. |last4=Frese |first4=M. |year=2006 |title=A state-trait analysis of job satisfaction: On the effect of core self-evaluations |journal=Applied Psychology: An International Review |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=27–51 |doi=10.1111/j.1464-0597.2006.00227.x }}</ref> In a follow-up study, Judge et al. (2002) argued that locus of control, neuroticism, self-efficacy, and self-esteem factors may have a common core.<ref name=pmid12219863>{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.83.3.693 |pmid=12219863 |title=Are measures of self-esteem, neuroticism, locus of control, and generalized self-efficacy indicators of a common core construct? |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=83 |issue=3 |pages=693–710 |year=2002 |last1=Judge |first1=Timothy A |last2=Erez |first2=Amir |last3=Bono |first3=Joyce E |last4=Thoresen |first4=Carl J |s2cid=18551901 }}</ref>
*''typical expectancy shifts'', believing that a success or failure would be followed by a similar outcome; and
*''atypical expectancy shifts'', believing that a success or failure would be followed by a dissimilar outcome.


=={{anchor|History of concept}}History==
Work in this field led psychologists to suppose that people who were more likely to display typical expectancy shifts were those who more likely to attribute their outcomes to ability, whereas those who displayed atypical expectancy would be more likely to attribute their outcomes to chance. This was interpreted as saying that people could be divided into those who attribute to ability (an internal cause) versus those who attribute to luck (an external cause).
{| class=wikitable align=right
|+ Weiner's attribution theory as<br />applied to student motivation
|-
| rowspan=2|
| colspan="2" align="center" | Perceived locus of control
|- align="center"
! Internal
! External
|- align=center
| align="right" | Attributions of control
| | Ability
| | Hardness of tasks
|- align=center
| align="right" | Attributions of no control
| | Effort
| | Luck or fate
|}
Locus of control as a theoretical construct derives from ]'s (1954) ] of personality. It is an example of a problem-solving generalized expectancy, a broad strategy for addressing a wide range of situations. In 1966 he published an article in ''Psychological Monographs'' which summarized over a decade of research (by Rotter and his students), much of it previously unpublished. In 1976, Herbert M. Lefcourt defined the perceived locus of control: "...a generalised expectancy for internal as opposed to external control of reinforcements".{{sfn|Lefcourt|1976|p=27}} Attempts have been made to trace the genesis of the concept to the work of ], but its immediate background lies in the work of Rotter and his students. Early work on the topic of expectations about control of reinforcement had been performed in the 1950s by James and Phares (prepared for unpublished doctoral dissertations supervised by Rotter at ]<!--Wikipedians do not use "The" as part of Ohio State's name; it is considered a marketing gimmick, and routinely deleted.-->).<ref name=Lefcourt>Herbert M. Lefcourt, ''Locus of Control: Current Trends in Theory and Research''. Psychology Press, 1982{{page needed|date=August 2018}}</ref>


Another Rotter student, William H. James studied two types of "expectancy shifts":
A revolutionary paper in this field was published in 1966, in the journal ''Psychological Monographs'', by Julian B. Rotter. Early history of the concept can be found in Lefcourt (1976), who, early in his treatise on the topic, relates the concept to ].
* ''Typical expectancy shifts'', believing that success (or failure) would be followed by a similar outcome
* ''Atypical expectancy shifts'', believing that success (or failure) would be followed by a dissimilar outcome


Additional research led to the hypothesis that typical expectancy shifts were displayed more often by those who attributed their outcomes to ability, whereas those who displayed atypical expectancy were more likely to attribute their outcomes to chance. This was interpreted that people could be divided into those who attribute to ability (an internal cause) versus those who attribute to luck (an external cause). ] argued that rather than ability-versus-luck, locus may relate to whether attributions are made to stable or unstable causes.
==Locus of control personality orientations==
In terms of personality types, the concept distinguishes ''internals'', who attribute events to their own control, and ''externals'', who attribute events in their life to external circumstances. For example, college students with a strong ''internal'' locus of control may believe that their grades were achieved through their own abilities and efforts, whereas those with a strong ''external'' locus of control may believe that their grades are the result of good or bad luck, and are hence less likely to work hard for high grades. (It should not be thought however, that internality is linked exclusively with attribution to effort and externality with attribution to luck, as Weiner's work (see below) makes clear). This has obvious implications for differences between internals and externals in terms of their achievement motivation, suggesting that internal locus is linked with higher levels of ]. Due to their locating control outside themselves, externals tend to feel they have less control over their fate. People with an external locus of control tend to be more stressed and prone to ](Benassi, Sweeney & Dafour, 1988; cited in Maltby, Day & Macaskill, 2007).


Rotter (1975, 1989) has discussed problems and misconceptions in others' use of the internal-versus-external construct.
===Characteristics===


=={{anchor|Locus of control personality orientations}}Personality orientation==
Internals were believed by Rotter (1966) to exhibit two essential characteristics - high achievement motivation and low outer-directedness. This was the basis of the locus of control scale proposed by Rotter in 1966, although this was actually based on Rotter's belief that locus of control is a unidimensional construct. Since 1970, Rotter's assumption of unidimensionality has been challenged, with Levenson, for example, arguing that different dimensions of locus of control, such as belief that events in one's life are self-determined, are organized by powerful others and are due chance-based, must be separated. Weiner's early work in the ], suggested that, more-or-less orthogonal to the internality-externality dimension, we should also consider differences between those who attribute to stable causes, and those who attribute to unstable causes.<ref>Weiner, 1974</ref> This meant that attributions could be to ability (an internal, stable cause), effort (an internal unstable cause), task difficulty (an external stable cause) or luck (an external, unstable cause). Such at least were how the early Weiner saw these four causes, although he has been challenged as to whether people do see luck, for example, as an external cause, whether ability is always perceived as stable and whether effort is always seen as changing. Indeed, in more recent publications (e.g. Weiner, 1980) Weiner uses different terms for these four causes - such as "objective task characteristics" in place of task difficulty and "chance" in place of luck. It has also been notable how psychologists since Weiner have distinguished between stable effort and unstable effort - knowing that, in some circumstances, effort could be seen as a stable cause, especially given the presence of certain words such as as "industrious" in the English language.
Rotter (1975) cautioned that internality and externality represent two ends of a continuum, not an either/or typology. ''Internals'' tend to attribute outcomes of events to their own control. People who have internal locus of control believe that the outcomes of their actions are results of their own abilities. Internals believe that their hard work would lead them to obtain positive outcomes.{{cn|date=January 2024}} They also believe that every action has its consequence, which makes them accept the fact that things happen and it depends on them if they want to have control over it or not. ''Externals'' attribute outcomes of events to external circumstances. A person with an external locus of control will tend to believe that their present circumstances are not the effect of their own influence, decisions, or control,<ref name="JL reff 1"/> and even that their own actions are a result of external factors, such as fate, luck, history, the influence of powerful forces, or individually or unspecified others (such as governmental entities; corporations; racial, religious, ethnic, or fraternal groups; sexes; political affiliations; outgroups; or even perceived individual personal antagonists) and/or a belief that the world is too complex for one to predict or influence its outcomes. Laying blame on others for one's own circumstances with the implication one is owed a moral or other debt is an indicator of a tendency toward an external locus of control. It should not be thought, however, that internality is linked exclusively with attribution to effort and externality with attribution to luck (as Weiner's work – see below – makes clear). This has obvious implications for differences between internals and externals in terms of their achievement motivation, suggesting that internal locus is linked with higher levels of ]. Due to their locating control outside themselves, externals tend to feel they have less control over their fate. People with an external locus of control tend to be more stressed and prone to ].<ref name=pmid3057032>{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0021-843x.97.3.357 |title=Is there a relation between locus of control orientation and depression? |journal=Journal of Abnormal Psychology |volume=97 |issue=3 |pages=357–367 |year=1988 |last1=Benassi |first1=Victor A |last2=Sweeney |first2=Paul D |last3=Dufour |first3=Charles L |pmid=3057032|s2cid=10721233 }}</ref>


Internals were believed by Rotter (1966) to exhibit two essential characteristics: high achievement motivation and low outer-directedness. This was the basis of the locus-of-control scale proposed by Rotter in 1966, although it was based on Rotter's belief that locus of control is a single construct. Since 1970, Rotter's assumption of uni-dimensionality has been challenged, with Levenson (for example) arguing that different dimensions of locus of control (such as beliefs that events in one's life are self-determined, or organized by powerful others and are chance-based) must be separated. Weiner's early work in the 1970s suggested that ] to the internality-externality dimension, differences should be considered between those who attribute to stable and those who attribute to unstable causes.{{sfn|Weiner|1974}}
==Scales to measure locus of control==


This new, dimensional theory meant that one could now attribute outcomes to ability (an internal stable cause), effort (an internal unstable cause), task difficulty (an external stable cause) or luck (an external, unstable cause). Although this was how Weiner originally saw these four causes, he has been challenged as to whether people see luck (for example) as an external cause, whether ability is always perceived as stable, and whether effort is always seen as changing. Indeed, in more recent publications (e.g. Weiner, 1980) he uses different terms for these four causes (such as "objective task characteristics" instead of "task difficulty" and "chance" instead of "luck"). Psychologists since Weiner have distinguished between stable and unstable effort, knowing that in some circumstances effort could be seen as a stable cause (especially given the presence of words such as "industrious" in English).
The most famous questionnaire to measure locus of control is the 23-item forced choice scale of Rotter (1966), but this is not the only questionnaire - indeed, predating Rotter's work by five years is Bialer's (1961) 23-item scale for children. Also of relevance to locus of control scale are the Crandall Intellectual Ascription of Responsibility Scale (Crandall, 1965), and the Nowicki-Strickland Scale.<ref>Nowicki & Strickland, 1971</ref> One of the earliest psychometric scales to assess locus of control, using a ]-type scale in contrast to the forced-choice alternative measure which can be found in Rotter's scale, was that devised by W.H. James, for his unpublished doctoral dissertation at the University of Ohio, although this remained an unpublished scale.<ref>Lefcourt, 1976</ref> Many measures of locus of control have appeared since Rotter's scale, both those, such as The Duttweiler Control Index (Duttweiler, 1984), which uses a five-point scale, and those which are related to specific areas, such as health. These scales are reviewed by Furnham and Steele(1993), and include those related to ], ] and those specifically for children, such as the Stanford Preschool Internal-External Control Index,<ref>Mischel et alia, 1974; cited in Furnham & Steele, 1993</ref> which is used for three to six year olds. Furnham and Steele (1993) cite data which suggest that the most reliable and valid of the questionnaires for adults is the Duttweiler scale. For a review of the health questionnaires cited by these authors, see below under "Applications".


Regarding locus of control, there is another type of control that entails a mix among the internal and external types. People who have the combination of the two types of locus of control are often referred to as bi-locals. People who have bi-local characteristics are known to handle stress and cope with their diseases more efficiently by having the mixture of internal and external locus of control.<ref name="JL reff 1"/> People who have this mix of loci of control can take personal responsibility for their actions and the consequences thereof while remaining capable of relying upon and having faith in outside resources; these characteristics correspond to the internal and external loci of control, respectively.
==Related area: Attributional style==
{{main|Explanatory style}}
Attributional style, or explanatory style, is a concept that was introduced by ], ] and ] (Abramson, Seligman & Teasdale, 1978). Buchanan and Seligman (1995) have edited a book-length review of the topic. This concept goes a stage further than Weiner, saying that in addition to the concepts of internality-externality and stability a dimension of globality-specificity is also needed. Abramson et al. therefore believed that how people explained successes and failures in their lives related to whether they attributed these to internal or external factors, to factors that were short-term or long-term and to factors that affected all situations in their lives versus highly circumscribed situations.


==Applications of locus of control theory== =={{anchor|Scales to measure locus of control}}Measuring scales==
The most widely used questionnaire to measure locus of control is the 23-item (plus six filler items), forced-choice scale of Rotter (1966).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/LC.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919142617/http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/LC.html | archive-date=2020-09-19 | title=Locus of Control }}</ref> However, this is not the only questionnaire; Bialer's (1961) 23-item scale for children predates Rotter's work. Also relevant to the locus-of-control scale are the Crandall Intellectual Ascription of Responsibility Scale (Crandall, 1965) and the Nowicki-Strickland Scale {{harv|Nowicki|Strickland| 1973}}. One of the earliest psychometric scales to assess locus of control (using a ]-type scale, in contrast to the forced-choice alternative measure in Rotter's scale) was that devised by W. H. James for his unpublished doctoral dissertation, supervised by Rotter at Ohio State University; however, this remains unpublished.{{sfn|Lefcourt| 1976}}
Locus of control's most famous application has probably been in the area of ], largely thanks to the work of Kenneth Wallston. Scales to measure locus of control in the health domain are reviewed by Furnham and Steele (1993). The most famous of these would be the Health Locus of Control Scale and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, or MHLC (Wallston, Wallston, & DeVellis, 1976; Wallston, Wallston, Kaplan & Maides, 1976). The latter scale is based on the idea, echoing Levenson's earlier work, that health may be attributed to three possible outcomes - internal factors, such as self-determination of a healthy lifestyle, powerful others, such as one's doctor, or luck. Some of the scales reviewed by Furnham and Steele (1993) relate to health in more specific domains, such as ] (for example, Saltzer's ) (1982) Weight Locus of Control Scale or Stotland and Zuroff's (1990) Dieting Beliefs Scale), or mental health (such as Wood and Letak's (1982) Mental Health Locus of Control Scale or the Depression Locus of Control Scale of Whiteman, Desmond and Price, 1987)and cancer (the Cancer Locus of Control Scale of Pruyn et alia, 1988). In discussing applications of the concept to health psychology, Furnham and Steele also refer to Claire Bradley's work, linking locus of control to management of ]. Empirical data on health locus of control in various fields has been reviewed by Norman and Bennett (1995). These authors note that data on whether certain health-related behaviours are related to internal health locus of control have been ambiguous. For example, they note that some studies found that internal health locus of control is linked with increased exercise, but they also cite several studies that have found only a weak or no relationship between exercise behaviours (such as ]) and internal health locus of control. They note similar ambiguity for data on the relationship between internal health locus of control and other health-related behaviours, such as breast self-examination, weight control and preventative health behaviours. Of particular interest are the data these authors cite on the relationship between internal health locus of control and alcohol consumption. Norman and Bennett note that some studies which have compared alcoholics with non-alcoholics have suggested alcoholism is linked with increased externality for health locus of control, but other studies have found alcoholism to be linked with increased internality, and similar ambiguity has been found in studies which have looked at alcohol consumption in a more general, non-alcoholic population. Norman and Bennett appear a little more optimistic in reviewing the literature on the relationship between internal health locus of control and smoking cessation, although they also point out that there are grounds for supposing that powerful others health locus of control, as well as internal health locus of control, may be linked with smoking cessation.


Many measures of locus of control have appeared since Rotter's scale. These were reviewed by Furnham and Steele (1993) and include those related to ],<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1177/109019817800600107 | title=Development of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales | date=1978 | last1=Wallston | first1=Kenneth A. | last2=Strudler Wallston | first2=Barbara | last3=Devellis | first3=Robert | journal=Health Education Monographs | volume=6 | issue=2 | pages=160–170 | pmid=689890 | s2cid=42985147 }}</ref> ]<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1111/j.2044-8325.1988.tb00470.x | title=Development of the Work Locus of Control Scale | date=1988 | last1=Spector | first1=Paul E. | journal=Journal of Occupational Psychology | volume=61 | issue=4 | pages=335–340 }}</ref> and those specifically for children (such as the Stanford Preschool Internal-External Scale<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/h0036020 |title = Internal-external control and persistence: Validation and implications of the Stanford Preschool Internal-External Scale|journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume = 29|issue = 2|pages = 265–278|year = 1974|last1 = Mischel|first1 = Walter|last2 = Zeiss|first2 = Robert|last3 = Zeiss|first3 = Antonette}}</ref>{{sfn|Furnham|Steele|1993}} for three- to six-year-olds). Furnham and Steele (1993) cite data suggesting that the most reliable, valid questionnaire for adults is the Duttweiler scale. For a review of the health questionnaires cited by these authors, see "Applications" below.
Norman and Bennett argue that a stronger relationship is found when health locus of control is assessed for specific domains than when general measures of locus of control are taken. ("Overall, studies using behaviour-specific health locus scales have tended to produce more positive results (Lefcourt, 1991). Moreover, hese scales have been found to be more predictive of general behaviour than more general scales, such as the MHLC scale" (Norman & Bennett, 1995, p72). Norman and Bennett cite several studies which have used health-related locus of control scales in specific domains, including smoking cessation (Georgio & Bradley, 1992), diabetes (Ferraro, Price, Desmond & Roberts, 1987), tablet-treated diabetes (Bradley, Lewis, Jennings & Ward, 1990), hypertension (Stantion, 1987), arthritis (Nicasio et al., 1985), cancer (Pruyn et al., 1988) and heart and lung disease (Allison, 1987). They also argue that health locus of control is better at predicting health-related behaviour if studied in conjunction with health value, i.e. the value people attach to their health, suggesting that health value is an important ] in the health-locus of control relationship. For example, Weiss and Larsen (1990) (cited in Norman & Bennett, 1995) found increased relationship between internal health locus of control and health when health value was assessed. Despite the importance that Norman and Bennet (1995) attach to use of specific measures of locus of control, there are still some general textbooks on personality, such as Maltby, Day and Macaskill (2007), which continue to cite studies linking internal locus of control with improved physical health, mental health and ] in people undergoing conditions as diverse as ], ], ], ] and ] (Maltby, Day & Macaskill, 2007).


The Duttweiler (1984) Internal Control Index (ICI) addresses perceived problems with the Rotter scales, including their forced-choice format, susceptibility to ] and heterogeneity (as indicated by ]). She also notes that, while other scales existed in 1984 to measure locus of control, "they appear to be subject to many of the same problems".{{sfn|Duttweiler| 1984| p=211}} Unlike the forced-choice format used on Rotter's scale, Duttweiler's 28-item ICI uses a Likert-type scale in which people must state whether they would rarely, occasionally, sometimes, frequently or usually behave as specified in each of 28 statements. The ICI assess variables pertinent to internal locus: cognitive processing, autonomy, resistance to social influence, self-confidence and delay of ]. A small (133 student-subject) validation study indicated that the scale had good internal consistency reliability (a ] of 0.85).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Salmani Nodoushan |first1=M. A. |year=2012 |title=The impact of locus of control on language achievement |journal=International Journal of Language Studies |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=123–36 |url=https://works.bepress.com/nodushan/125/ }}</ref>
Other fields to which the concept has been appplied include ], ], ] and the ]. Richard Kahoe has published celebrated work in the latter field, suggesting that intrinsic religious orientation correlates positively, extrinsic religious orientation correlates negatively, with internal locus.<ref>Kahoe, 1974</ref> Of relevance to both health psychology and the psychology of religion is the work prepared by Holt, Clark, Kreuter and Rubio (2003), in preparing a questionnaire to assess spiritual health locus of control. These authors distinguished between an active spiritual health locus of control orientation, in which "God empowers the individual to take healthy actions"<ref>Holt et al., p294</ref> and a more passive spiritual health locus of control orientation, where people leave everything to God in the care of their own health. In ], it has been found that internals are more likely to take position action to change their jobs, rather than merely to talk about occupational change, than externals (Allen, Weeks & Moffat, 2005; cited in Maltby et al., 2007).


=={{anchor|Related area: attributional style}}Attributional style==
==Characteristics of locus of control orientations==
{{Main|Explanatory style}}
Attributional style (or explanatory style) is a concept introduced by ], ] and ].{{sfn|Abramson|Seligman|Teasdale|1978}} This concept advances a stage further than Weiner, stating that in addition to the concepts of internality-externality and stability a dimension of globality-specificity is also needed. Abramson et al. believed that how people explained successes and failures in their lives related to whether they attributed these to internal or external factors, short-term or long-term factors, and factors that affected all situations.


The topic of ] (introduced to psychology by ]) has had an influence on locus of control theory, but there are important historical differences between the two models. Attribution theorists have been predominantly ], concerned with the general processes characterizing how and why people make the attributions they do, whereas locus of control theorists have been concerned with individual differences.
Empirical research findings have implied the following differences between internals and externals:


Significant to the history of both approaches are the contributions made by ] in the 1970s. Before this time, attribution theorists and locus of control theorists had been largely concerned with divisions into external and internal loci of causality. Weiner added the dimension of stability-instability (and later controllability), indicating how a cause could be perceived as having been internal to a person yet still beyond the person's control. The stability dimension added to the understanding of why people succeed or fail after such outcomes.
# Internals are more likely to work for achievements, to tolerate delays in rewards and to plan for long-term goals, whereas externals are more likely to lower their goals. After failing a task, internals re-evaluate future performances and lower their expectations of success, whereas externals may raise their expectations. These differences relate to differences in achievement motivation (as noted above, Rotter (1966) believed that internals tend to be higher in achievement motivation than externals). However, empirical findings have been ambiguous here. There is some evidence that sex-based differences may complicate these findings, with females being more responsive to failures, males to successes.<ref>Weiner, 1980</ref>

#Going back to Bialer's (1961), considerable data suggest that internal locus of control is associated with increased ability to delay gratification.<ref>Lefcourt, 1976</ref> However, at least one study has found this effect does not apply to all samples. Walls and Miller (cited in Lefcourt, 1976) found an association between internal locus and delay of gratification in second and third grade children, but not in adults who were vocational rehabilitation clients.
=={{anchor|Applications of locus of control theory}}Applications==
# Internals are better able to resist coercion. This relates to higher outer-directedness of externals, another factor which Rotter (1966) believed distinguished the two orientations.
Locus of control's best known application may have been in the area of ], largely due to the work of Kenneth Wallston. Scales to measure locus of control in the health domain were reviewed by Furnham and Steele in 1993. The best-known are the Health Locus of Control Scale and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, or MHLC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wallston |first1=Barbara S. |last2=Wallston |first2=Kenneth A. |last3=Kaplan |first3=Gordon D.. |last4=Maides |first4=Shirley A. |title=Development and validation of the Health Locus of Control (HLC) Scale |journal=Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology |date=August 1976 |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=580–585 |doi=10.1037/0022-006X.44.4.580 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1177/109019817800600107 |pmid = 689890|title = Development of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales|journal = Health Education Monographs|volume = 6|issue = 2|pages = 160–170|year = 1978|last1 = Wallston|first1 = Kenneth A.|last2 = Strudler Wallston|first2 = Barbara|last3 = Devellis|first3 = Robert|s2cid = 42985147}}</ref> The latter scale is based on the idea (echoing Levenson's earlier work) that health may be attributed to three sources: internal factors (such as self-determination of a healthy lifestyle), powerful others (such as one's doctor) or luck (which is very dangerous as lifestyle advice will be ignored – these people are very difficult to help).
# Internals are better at tolerating ambiguous situations. There is also a lot of evidence in clinical research that internality correlates negatively with anxiety, and that internals may be less prone to depression than externals, as well as being less prone to ]. However, this does not mean that the emotional life of the internal is always more positive than that of the external, as internals are known to be more guilt-prone than externals.

# Internals are less willing to take risks, to work on self-improvement and to better themselves through remedial work than externals
Some of the scales reviewed by Furnham and Steele (1993) relate to health in more specific domains, such as ] (for example, Saltzer's (1982) Weight Locus of Control Scale or Stotland and Zuroff's (1990) Dieting Beliefs Scale), mental health (such as Wood and Letak's (1982) Mental Health Locus of Control Scale or the Depression Locus of Control Scale of Whiteman, Desmond and Price, 1987) and cancer (the Cancer Locus of Control Scale of Pruyn et al., 1988). In discussing applications of the concept to health psychology Furnham and Steele refer to Claire Bradley's work, linking locus of control to the management of ]. Empirical data on health locus of control in a number of fields was reviewed by Norman and Bennett in 1995; they note that data on whether certain health-related behaviors are related to internal health locus of control have been ambiguous. They note that some studies found that internal health locus of control is linked with increased exercise, but cite other studies which found a weak (or no) relationship between exercise behaviors (such as ]) and internal health locus of control. A similar ambiguity is noted for data on the relationship between internal health locus of control and other health-related behaviors (such as ], weight control and preventive-health behavior). Of particular interest are the data cited on the relationship between internal health locus of control and alcohol consumption.
# Internals derive greater benefits from social supports.

# Internals make better mental health recovery in the long-term adjustment to physical disability.
Norman and Bennett note that some studies that compared alcoholics with non-alcoholics suggest ] is linked to increased externality for health locus of control; however, other studies have linked alcoholism with increased internality. Similar ambiguity has been found in studies of alcohol consumption in the general, non-alcoholic population. They are more optimistic in reviewing the literature on the relationship between internal health locus of control and ], although they also point out that there are grounds for supposing that powerful-others and internal-health loci of control may be linked with this behavior. It is thought that, rather than being caused by one or the other, that alcoholism is directly related to the strength of the locus, regardless of type, internal or external.
# Internals are more likely to prefer games based on skill, while externals prefer games based on chance or luck.

They argue that a stronger relationship is found when health locus of control is assessed for specific domains than when general measures are taken. Overall, studies using behavior-specific health locus scales have tended to produce more positive results.<ref>{{Cite book | doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-590241-0.50013-7 |chapter = Locus of Control|title = Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes|pages = 413–499|year = 1991|last1 = Lefcourt|first1 = Herbert M.|isbn = 978-0-12-590241-0}}</ref> These scales have been found to be more predictive of general behavior than more general scales, such as the MHLC scale.{{sfn|Norman| Bennett| 1995| p=72}} Norman and Bennett cite several studies that used health-related locus-of-control scales in specific domains (including smoking cessation),<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/08870449208403186 |title = The development of a smoking-specific locus of control scale|journal = Psychology & Health|volume = 6|issue = 3|pages = 227–246|year = 1992|last1 = Georgiou|first1 = Amanda|last2 = Bradley|first2 = Clare}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.2466/pr0.1987.61.3.763 |pmid = 3438399|title = Development of a Diabetes Locus of Control Scale|journal = Psychological Reports|volume = 61|issue = 3|pages = 763–770|year = 1987|last1 = Ferraro|first1 = Laurie A.|last2 = Price|first2 = James H.|last3 = Desmond|first3 = Sharon M.|last4 = Roberts|first4 = Stephen M.|s2cid = 19919174}}</ref> tablet-treated diabetes,<ref>{{Cite journal |pmid = 2147629|year = 1990|last1 = Bradley|first1 = C.|title = Scales to measure perceived control developed specifically for people with tablet-treated diabetes|journal = Diabetic Medicine|volume = 7|issue = 8|pages = 685–94|last2 = Lewis|first2 = K. S.|last3 = Jennings|first3 = A. M.|last4 = Ward|first4 = J. D.|doi = 10.1111/j.1464-5491.1990.tb01471.x|s2cid = 31653221}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1007/BF00846477 | pmid=3669072| title=Determinants of adherence to medical regimens by hypertensive patients| journal=Journal of Behavioral Medicine| volume=10| issue=4| pages=377–394| year=1987| last1=Stanton| first1=Annette L.| s2cid=2923301}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nicassio |first1=PM |last2=Wallston |first2=KA |last3=Callahan |first3=LF |last4=Herbert |first4=M |last5=Pincus |first5=T |title=The measurement of helplessness in rheumatoid arthritis. The development of the arthritis helplessness index |journal=The Journal of Rheumatology |date=June 1985 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=462–7 |pmid=4045844 }}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Pruyn JF, van den Borne HW, de Reuver RS, de Boer MF, Bosman LJ, ter Pelkwijk MA, de Jong PC |title=De Locus of Control-schaal voor Kankerpatienten |trans-title=The Locus of Control Scale for Cancer Patients |journal=Tijdschrift voor Sociale Gezondheidszorg |year=1988 |volume=66 |pages=404–408}}</ref> and ] and ].<ref>{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |last=Allison |first=K. |year=1987 |title=Perceived control as a determinant of preventive health behaviour for heart disease and lung cancer |publisher=University of Toronto}}</ref>

They also argue that health locus of control is better at predicting health-related behavior if studied in conjunction with health value (the value people attach to their health), suggesting that health value is an important ] in the health locus of control relationship. For example, Weiss and Larsen (1990) found an increased relationship between internal health locus of control and health when health value was assessed.{{sfn|Norman |Bennett|1995}} Despite the importance Norman and Bennett attach to specific measures of locus of control, there are general textbooks on personality which cite studies linking internal locus of control with improved physical health, mental health and ] in people with diverse conditions: ], ], ], ] and ].{{sfn|Maltby|Day |Macaskill|2007}}

During the 1970s and 1980s, Whyte correlated locus of control with the academic success of students enrolled in higher-education courses. Students who were more internally controlled believed that hard work and focus would result in successful academic progress, and they performed better academically. Those students who were identified as more externally controlled (believing that their future depended upon luck or fate) tended to have lower academic-performance levels. ] researched how control tendency influenced behavioral outcomes in the academic realm by examining the effects of various modes of counseling on grade improvements and the locus of control of high-risk college students.{{sfn|Whyte| 1980}}{{sfn|Whyte|1978}}<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Whyte | first1 = C. B. | year = 1977 | title = High-risk college freshman and locus of control | journal = The Humanist Educator | volume = 16 | issue = 1| pages = 2–5 | doi=10.1002/j.2164-6163.1977.tb00177.x}}</ref>

Rotter also looked at studies regarding the correlation between gambling and either an internal or external locus of control. For internals, gambling is more reserved. When betting, they primarily focus on safe and moderate wagers. Externals, however, take more chances and, for example, bet more on a card or number that has not appeared for a certain period, under the notion that this card or number has a higher chance of occurring, a belief known as the ].{{sfn|Hock|2008}}

===Organizational psychology and religion===
Other fields to which the concept has been applied include ], ], ] and the ]. Richard Kahoe has published work in the latter field, suggesting that intrinsic religious orientation correlates positively (and extrinsic religious orientation correlates negatively) with internal locus.{{sfn|Kahoe|1974}} Of relevance to both health psychology and the psychology of religion is the work of Holt, Clark, Kreuter and Rubio (2003) on a questionnaire to assess spiritual-health locus of control. The authors distinguished between an active spiritual-health locus of control (in which "God empowers the individual to take healthy actions"{{sfn|Holt| Clark| Kreuter| Rubio|2003|p=294}}) and a more passive spiritual-health locus of control (where health is left up to God). In ], it has been found that internals are more likely to take positive action to change their jobs (rather than merely talk about occupational change) than externals.{{sfn|Allen|Weeks|Moffitt|2005}}{{sfn|Maltby|Day |Macaskill|2007}} Locus of control relates to a wide variety of work variables, with work-specific measures relating more strongly than general measures.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wang | first1 = Q. | last2 = Bowling | first2 = N. A. | last3 = Eschleman | first3 = K. J. | year = 2010 | title = A meta-analytic examination of work and general locus of control | journal = Journal of Applied Psychology | volume = 95 | issue = 4| pages = 761–768 | doi = 10.1037/a0017707 | pmid = 20604595 }}</ref> In Educational setting, some research has shown that students who were intrinsically motivated had processed reading material more deeply and had better academic performance than students with extrinsic motivation.<ref name="less is sometimes more">{{cite journal | doi=10.1037/0022-0663.96.4.755 | title=Less is sometimes more: Goal content matters | date=2004 | last1=Vansteenkiste | first1=Maarten | last2=Simons | first2=Joke | last3=Lens | first3=Willy | last4=Soenens | first4=Bart | last5=Matos | first5=Lennia | last6=Lacante | first6=Marlies | journal=Journal of Educational Psychology | volume=96 | issue=4 | pages=755–764 | url=https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/627446 }}</ref>

===Consumer research===
Locus of control has also been applied to the field of consumer research. For example, Martin, Veer and Pervan (2007) examined how the weight locus of control of women (i.e., beliefs about the control of body weight) influence how they react to female models in advertising of different body shapes. They found that women who believe they can control their weight ("internals"), respond most favorably to slim models in advertising, and this favorable response is mediated by self-referencing. In contrast, women who feel powerless about their weight ("externals"), self-reference larger-sized models, but only prefer larger-sized models when the advertisement is for a non-fattening product. For fattening products, they exhibit a similar preference for larger-sized models and slim models. The weight locus of control measure was also found to be correlated with measures for weight control beliefs and willpower.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s11002-007-9014-1 |title=Self-referencing and consumer evaluations of larger-sized female models: A weight locus of control perspective |journal=Marketing Letters |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=197–209 |year=2007 |last1=Martin |first1=Brett A. S |last2=Veer |first2=Ekant |last3=Pervan |first3=Simon J |s2cid=17175873 |hdl=10.1007/s11002-007-9014-1 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

===Political ideology===
Locus of control has been linked to ]. In the 1972 U.S. presidential election, research of college students found that those with an internal locus of control were substantially more likely to register as a ], while those with an external locus of control were substantially more likely to register as a ].<ref name=pmid4814098>{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/h0035997 |pmid=4814098 |title=Locus of control and political participation of college students: A comparison of unidimensional and multidimensional approaches |journal=Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=54–58 |year=1974 |last1=Gootnick |first1=Andrew T |hdl=10150/554618 |url=https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/10150/554618/1/AZU_TD_BOX86_E9791_1973_61.pdf |hdl-access=free }}</ref> A 2011 study surveying students at ] in Oklahoma found similar results,<ref>Laverghetta, Antonio. "{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Oklahoma Research Day, Cameron University, Lawton, OK, Nov 04, 2011. 2014-11-25; URL accessed 14 November 2015</ref> although these studies were limited in scope. Consistent with these findings, Kaye Sweetser (2014) found that Republicans significantly displayed greater internal locus of control than Democrats and Independents.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1177/0002764213506215 | title=Partisan Personality: The Psychological Differences Between Democrats and Republicans, and Independents Somewhere in Between| journal=American Behavioral Scientist| volume=58| issue=9| pages=1183–1194| year=2014| last1=Sweetser| first1=Kaye D.| s2cid=145674720|url=http://www.kayesweetser.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/sweetser-2014.pdf }}</ref>

Those with an internal locus of control are more likely to be of higher ], and are more likely to be politically involved (e.g., following political news, joining a political organization)<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cohen | first1 = A. | last2 = Vigoda | first2 = E. | last3 = Samorly | first3 = A. | year = 2001 | title = Analysis of the mediating effect of personal psychological variables on the relationship between socioeconomic status and political participation: A structural equations framework | journal = Political Psychology | volume = 22 | issue = 4| pages = 727–757 | doi=10.1111/0162-895x.00260}}</ref> Those with an internal locus of control are also more likely to vote.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Blanchard | first1 = E. | last2 = Scarboro | first2 = M. | year = 1973 | title = Locus of control and the prediction of voting behavior in college students | journal = Journal of Social Psychology | volume = 89 | issue = 1| pages = 123–129 | doi=10.1080/00224545.1973.9922576| pmid = 4694574 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Deutchman | first1 = I | year = 1985 | title = Internal-External Locus of Control, power and political participation | journal = Psychological Reports | volume = 57 | issue = 3| pages = 835–843 | doi=10.2466/pr0.1985.57.3.835| s2cid = 145050676 }}</ref>


==Familial origins== ==Familial origins==
The development of locus of control is associated with family style and resources, cultural stability and experiences with effort leading to reward. {{Fact|date=April 2007}} Many internals have grown up with families that modeled typical internal beliefs. These families emphasized effort, education, responsibility and thinking. Parents typically gave their children rewards they had promised them. The development of locus of control is associated with ] style and resources, cultural stability and experiences with effort leading to reward.{{cn|date=January 2024}} Many internals have grown up with families modeling typical internal beliefs; these families emphasized effort, education, responsibility and thinking, and parents typically gave their children rewards they had promised them. In contrast, externals are typically associated with lower ]. Societies experiencing social unrest increase the expectancy of being out-of-control; therefore, people in such societies become more external.<ref name="Meyerhoff">{{harvnb|Meyerhoff|2004|p=8}}</ref>
In contrast, externals are typically associated with lower socioeconomic status, because poor people have less control over their lives. Societies experiencing social unrest increase the expectancy of being out-of-control, so people in such societies become more external. The research of Schneewind (1995; cited in Schultz & Schultz, 2005) suggests that "children in large single parent families headed by women are more likely to develop an external locus of control" (Schultz & Schultz,2005, p439). Schultz and Schultz also point out that children who develop an internal locus tend to come from families where parents have been supportive and consistent in self-discipline. There has been some ambiguity about whether parental locus of control influences a children's locus of control, although at least one study has found that children are more likely to attribute their successes and failures to unknown causes if their parents had an external locus of control (see the first of the external links listed below).


The 1995 research of Schneewind suggests that "children in large ] families headed by women are more likely to develop an external locus of control"{{sfn|Schultz | Schultz |2005| p=439}}<ref>{{Cite book | doi=10.1017/CBO9780511527692.006 |chapter = Impact of family processes on control beliefs|title = Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies|pages = 114–148|year = 1995|last1 = Schneewind|first1 = Klaus A.|isbn = 978-0-521-47467-2|publisher=Cambridge University Press|editor-first=Albert| editor-last=Bandura}}</ref> Schultz and Schultz also claim that children in families where parents have been supportive and consistent in discipline develop internal locus of control. At least one study has found that children whose parents had an external locus of control are more likely to attribute their successes and failures to external causes.<ref> Archived from 2012-04-07.</ref> Findings from early studies on the familial origins of locus of control were summarized by Lefcourt: "Warmth, supportiveness and parental encouragement seem to be essential for development of an internal locus".{{sfn|Lefcourt|1976|p=100}} However, causal evidence regarding how parental locus of control influences offspring locus of control (whether genetic, or environmentally mediated) is lacking.
As children grow older, they gain skills that give them more control over their environment. In support of this, psychological research has found that older children have more internal locus of control than younger children. Findings from early studies on the familial origins of locus of control were summarised by Lefcourt:
"Warmth, supportiveness and parental encouragement seem to be essential for development of an internal locus".<ref>Lefcourt, 1976, p100</ref>


Locus of control becomes more internal with age. As children grow older, they gain skills which give them more control over their environment. However, whether this or biological development is responsible for changes in locus is unclear.<ref name="Meyerhoff" />
==Locus of control and age==
It is sometimes assumed that as people age, they will become less internal and more external, but data here have been ambiguous.<ref>Aldwin & Gilmer, 2004; Johnson, Grant, Plomin, Pedersen, Ahern, Berg & McClearn, 2001</ref> Longitudinal data collected by Gatz and Karel (cited in Johnson et al., 2004) imply that internality may increase up to middle age, and thereafter decrease. Noting the ambiguity of data in this area, Aldwin and Gilmer (2004) cite Lachman's claim that locus of control is ambiguous. Indeed, there is evidence here that changes in locus of control in later life relate more visibly to increased externality, rather than reduced internality, if the two concepts are taken to be orthogonal. Evidence cited by Schultz and Schultz (2005), for example Heckhausen and Schulz (1995) or Ryckman and Malikosi, 1975 (cited in Schultz & Schultz, 2005), suggests that locus of control increases in internality up until middle age. These authors also note that attempts to control the environment become more pronounced between the age of eight and fourteen.


=={{anchor|Locus of control and age}}Age==
==Sex-based differences in locus of control==
Some studies showed that with age people develop a more internal locus of control,<ref name="LOCpsy">{{cite journal |author1=Hovenkamp-Hermelink, J.H.M.|author2= Jeronimus, B.F.| author3= Spinhoven, P. | author4= Penninx, B.W. | author5= Schoevers, R.A. | author6= Riese, H. | year = 2019 | title = Differential associations of locus of control with anxiety, depression and life-events: A five-wave, nine-year study to test stability and change | journal = Journal of Affective Disorders | volume = 253 | issue = 1 | pages = 26–34 | doi= 10.1016/j.jad.2019.04.005|pmid= 31009845|url= https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/80474487/DEF_manuscript_Locus_of_Control.pdf| hdl= 11370/1650e544-5e12-40a1-a76d-e7f18032c27d |s2cid= 128362738| hdl-access= free }}</ref> but other study results have been ambiguous.{{sfn|Aldwin| Gilmer|2004}}{{sfn|Johansson|Grant|Plomin|Pedersen|2001}} Longitudinal data collected by Gatz and Karel imply that internality may increase until middle age, decreasing thereafter.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1177/016502549301600211 |title = Individual Change in Perceived Control over 20 Years|journal = International Journal of Behavioral Development|volume = 16|issue = 2|pages = 305–322|year = 1993|last1 = Gatz|first1 = Margaret|last2 = Karel|first2 = Michele J.|s2cid = 144387499}} Cited in {{harvnb|Johansson|Grant|Plomin|Pedersen|2001}}.</ref> Noting the ambiguity of data in this area, Aldwin and Gilmer (2004) cite Lachman's claim that locus of control is ambiguous. Indeed, there is evidence here that changes in locus of control in later life relate more visibly to increased externality (rather than reduced internality) if the two concepts are taken to be ]. Evidence cited by Schultz and Schultz (2005) suggests that locus of control increases in internality until middle age. The authors also note that attempts to control the environment become more pronounced between ages eight and fourteen.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Heckhausen |first1=Jutta |last2=Schulz |first2=Richard |title=A life-span theory of control |journal=Psychological Review |date=1995 |volume=102 |issue=2 |pages=284–304 |doi=10.1037/0033-295X.102.2.284 |pmid=7740091 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |pmid = 1144613|year = 1975|last1 = Ryckman|first1 = R. M.|title = Relationship between locus of control and chronological age|journal = Psychological Reports|volume = 36|issue = 2|pages = 655–8|last2 = Malikiosi|first2 = M. X.|doi = 10.2466/pr0.1975.36.2.655|s2cid = 7788296}}</ref>
As Schultz and Schultz (2005) point out, significant differences in locus of control have not been found for adults in a U.S. population. However, these authors also note that there may be specific sex-based differences for specific categories of item to assess locus of control - for example, they cite evidence that men may have a greater internal locus for questions related to academic achievement (Strickland & Haley, 1980; cited in Schultz & Schultz, 2005).


Health locus of control is how people measure and understand how people relate their health to their behavior, health status and how long it may take to recover from a disease.<ref name="JL reff 1">{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s12144-011-9108-z |title=Predictors of Health Locus of Control in Older Adults |journal=Current Psychology |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=173–183 |year=2011 |last1=Jacobs-Lawson |first1=Joy M |last2=Waddell |first2=Erin L |last3=Webb |first3=Alicia K |s2cid=143634466 }}</ref> Locus of control can influence how people think and react towards their health and health decisions. Each day we are exposed to potential diseases that may affect our health. The way we approach that reality has a lot to do with our locus of control. Sometimes it is expected to see older adults experience progressive declines in their health, for this reason it is believed that their health locus of control will be affected.<ref name="JL reff 1"/> However, this does not necessarily mean that their locus of control will be affected negatively but older adults may experience decline in their health and this can show lower levels of internal locus of control.
==Cross-cultural issues in locus of control==
The question of whether people from different cultures vary in locus of control has long been of interest to social psychologists. Japanese people tend to be more external in locus of control orientation than people in the U.S., whereas differences in locus of control between different countries within Europe, and between the States and Europe, tend to be small (Berry, Poortinga, Segall & Dasen, 1992). As Berry et al. (1992) point out, different ethnic groups within the United States have been compared on locus of control, with blacks in the U.S. being more external than whites, even when ] is controlled (Dyal, 1984; cited in Berry et al., 1992). Berry et al. (1992) also point out how research on other ethnic minorities in the U.S., such as Hispanics, has been ambiguous. More on cross-cultural variations in locus of control can be found in Shiraev and Levy (2004). The research in this area indicates how locus of control has been a useful concept for researchers in ].


Age plays an important role in one's internal and external locus of control. When comparing a young child and an older adult with their levels of locus of control in regards to health, the older person will have more control over their attitude and approach to the situation. As people age they become aware of the fact that events outside of their own control happen and that other individuals can have control of their health outcomes.<ref name="JL reff 1"/>
==Self-efficacy==
] is another related concept, introduced by ]. Although someone may believe that how some future event turns out is under their control, they may or may not believe that they are capable of behaving in a way that will produce the desired result. For example, an athlete may believe that training eight hours a day would result in a marked improvement in ability (an internal locus of control orientation) but not believe that he or she is capable of training that hard (a low sense of self-efficacy). Self-efficacy has been measured by means of a psychometric scale<ref>Sherer, Madux et al., 1982</ref> and differs from locus of control in that whereas locus of control is generally a measure of cross-situational beliefs about control, self-efficacy is used as a concept to relate to more circumscribed situations and activities. Bandura has emphasised how the concept differs from self-esteem - using the example that a person may have low self-efficacy for ballroom dancing, but that if ballroom dancing is not very important to that person, this is unlikely to result in low self-esteem.


A study published in the journal ''Psychosomatic Medicine'' examined the health effect of childhood locus of control. 7,500 British adults (followed from birth), who had shown an internal locus of control at age 10, were less likely to be overweight at age 30. The children who had an internal locus of control also appeared to have higher levels of self-esteem.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080619/hl_nm/self_confident_dc | title=Self-confident children may be healthier as adults | website=Yahoo! News | date=June 19, 2008 | author=Norton, Amy | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624104952/http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080619/hl_nm/self_confident_dc | archive-date=June 24, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gale |first1=Catharine R. |last2=Batty |first2=G David |last3=Deary |first3=Ian J. |title=Locus of Control at Age 10 Years and Health Outcomes and Behaviors at Age 30 Years: The 1970 British Cohort Study |journal=Psychosomatic Medicine |date=May 2008 |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=397–403 |doi=10.1097/PSY.0b013e31816a719e |pmid=18480188 |s2cid=19399017 }}</ref>
Psychiatrist and expert on trauma and dissociation, ], M.D., describes the inappropriate self-blame that characterizes many adult survivors of childhood trauma as "the locus of control shift." This theory is pivotal in his therapeutic sessions with near-psychotic people at the ].


=={{anchor|Lack of sex-based differences in locus of control, with some caveats}}Gender-based differences==
It is important to appreciate that differences do exist between internal locus of control and self-efficacy. Smith (1989) has argued that the Rotter scale to assess locus of control cannot be taken as a measure of self-efficacy, because "only a subset of items refer directly to the subject's capabilities" (Smith, p229). Smith noted, in his empirical study, that coping skills training led to increases in self-efficacy, but did not affect locus of control as measured by Rotter's (1966) scale.
As Schultz and Schultz (2005) point out, significant gender differences in locus of control have not been found for adults in the U.S. population. However, these authors also note that there may be specific sex-based differences for specific categories of items to assess locus of control; for example, they cite evidence that men may have a greater internal locus for questions related to ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Strickland |first1=Bonnie R. |last2=Haley |first2=William E. |title=Sex differences on the Rotter I–E scale |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |date=November 1980 |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=930–939 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.39.5.930 }}</ref>{{Sfn|Schultz| Schultz| 2005}}


A study made by Takaki and colleagues (2006), focused on the sex or gendered differences with relationship to internal locus of control and self-efficacy in ] patients and their compliance.<ref name=pmid16637257>{{cite journal |doi=10.3200/BMED.32.1.5-11 |pmid=16637257 |title=Possible Gender Differences in the Relationships of Self-efficacy and the Internal Locus of Control with Compliance in Hemodialysis Patients |journal=Behavioral Medicine |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=5–11 |year=2006 |last1=Takaki |first1=Jiro |last2=Yano |first2=Eiji |s2cid=22428447 }}</ref> This study showed that women who had high internal locus of control were less compliant in regards to their health and medical advice compared to the men that participated in this study. ] is known to be the degree in which a person's behavior, in this case the patient, has a relationship with the medical advice. For example, a person that is compliant will correctly follow his/her doctor's advice.
==Summary, critique and the future==


=={{anchor|Cross-cultural and Regional issues in locus of control}}Cross-cultural and regional issues==
Locus of control has been a concept which has certainly generated much research in psychology, in a variety of areas. Usefulness of the construct can be seen in its applicability to fields such as educational psychology, health psychology or clinical psychology. There will probably continue to be debate about whether specific or more global measures of locus of control will prove to be more useful. Careful distinctions should also be made between locus of control (a concept linked with expectancies about the future) and attributional style (a concept linked with explanations for past outcomes), or between locus of control and concepts such as self-efficacy. The importance of locus of control as a topic in psychology is likely to remain quite central for many years.
The question of whether people from different ]s vary in locus of control has long been of interest to social psychologists.


] tend to be more external in locus-of-control orientation than people in the ]; however, differences in locus of control between different countries within ] (and between the U.S. and Europe) tend to be small.{{sfn|Berry|Poortinga|Segall| Dasen|1992}} As Berry ''et al.'' pointed out in 1992, ]s within the United States have been compared on locus of control; ]s in the U.S. are more external than ] when socioeconomic status is controlled.<ref>{{Cite book | doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-443203-1.50008-9 |chapter = Cross-Cultural Research with the Locus of Control Construct|title = Research with the Locus of Control Construct|pages = 209–306|year = 1984|last1 = Dyal|first1 = James A.|isbn = 978-0-12-443203-1}}</ref>{{sfn|Berry|Poortinga|Segall| Dasen|1992}} Berry ''et al.'' also pointed out in 1992 how research on other ethnic minorities in the U.S. (such as Hispanics) has been ambiguous. More on cross-cultural variations in locus of control can be found in {{harvtxt|Shiraev | Levy |2004}}. Research in this area indicates that locus of control has been a useful concept for researchers in ].
==References==
*Abramson, L.Y., Seligman, M.E.P. & Teasdale, J.D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 87, 49-74
* Abramson, L.Y., Metasky, G.I. & Alloy, L.B. (1989). Hopelessness depression: A theory-based subtype of depression. Psychological Review, 96, 358-372
*Aldwin, C.M. & Gilman, D.F. (2004). Health, Illness and Optimal Ageing. London: Sage. ISBN 0-7619-2259-8
*Anderson, C. A., Jennings, D.L., & Arnoult, L.H. (1988).
Validity and utility of the attributional style construct at a moderate level of specificity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 979-990.
*Berry, J.W., Poortinga, Y.H.,Segall, M.H. & Dasen, P.R. (1992). Cross-cultural Psychology: Research and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-37761-7
*Buchanan, G.M. & Seligman, M.E.P. (1997). ''Explanatory Style''. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0-8058-0924-5
*Burns, M. & Seligman, M.E.P. (1989) "Explanatory style across the lifespan", ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology'' '''56''', 471-77.
*Cutrona, C.E.; Russell, D. & Jones, R.D. (1985). "Cross-situational consistency in causal attributions: Does attributional style exist?" ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology''.
*Furnham, A. & Steele, H. (1993). "Measures of Locus of Control: A critique of children's, health and work-related locus of control questionnaires", ''British Journal of Psychology'' '''84''', 443-79.
* Eisner, J.E. (1995). The origins of explanatory style: Trust as a determinant of pessimism and optimism. In G.M. Buchanan& M.E.P. Seligman(eds)(1997). ''Explanatory Style''. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp49-55
* Gong-Guy, E., & Hammen, C. (1980). Causal perceptions of stressful events in depressed and nondepressed outpatients. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 89, 662-669
* Holt, C.L., Clark, E.M., Kreuter, M.W. & Rubio, D. (2003). Spiritual Health locus of control and cancer beliefs among urban African American women. Health Psychology, 22 (3) 294-299
*Kahoe, R. (1974). "Personality and achievement correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations", ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology'' '''29''', 812-818.
*Lefcourt, H.M. (1966). "Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A review", ''Psychological Bulletin'', '''65''', 206-20.
*Lefcourt, H.M. (1976). ''Locus of Control: Current Trends in Theory and Research'' New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0-470-154044-0
* Maltby, J., Day, L. & Macaskill, A. (2007). Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence. Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-12976-0
* Norman, P. & Antaki, C. (1988). The Real Events Attributional Style Questionnaire. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 7, 97-100
* Norman, P. & Bennett, P. (1995). Health Locus of Control. In M. Conner & P. Norman (Eds). Predicting Health Behaviour. Buckingham: Open University Press. Chapter Three, pp62-94


On a less broad scale, Sims and Baumann explained how regions in the United States cope with natural disasters differently. The example they used was tornados. They "applied Rotter's theory to explain why more people have died in tornados in Alabama than in Illinois".{{sfn|Hock|2008}} They explain that after giving surveys to residents of four counties in both Alabama and Illinois, Alabama residents were shown to be more external in their way of thinking about events that occur in their lives. Illinois residents, however, were more internal. Because Alabama residents had a more external way of processing information, they took fewer precautions prior to the appearance of a tornado. Those in Illinois, however, were more prepared, thus leading to fewer casualties.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Sims | first1 = J. | last2 = Baumann | first2 = D. | year = 1972 | title = The tornado threat: Coping styles in the North and South | journal = Science | volume = 176 | issue = 4042| pages = 1386–1392 | doi=10.1126/science.176.4042.1386| pmid = 17834637 | bibcode = 1972Sci...176.1386S | s2cid = 28619302 }}</ref>
*Nowicki, S. & Strickland, B. (1973). "A locus of control scale for children", ''Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology'' '''42''', 148-155.

* Peterson, C., Semmel, A., von Baeyer, C., Abramson, L., Metalsky, G.I. & Seligman, M.E.P. (1982). The Attributional Style Questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 6, 287-289
Later studies find that these geographic differences can be explained by differences in ]. Relational mobility is a measure of how much choice individuals have in terms of whom to form relationships with, including friendships, romantic partnerships, and work relations. Relational mobility is low in cultures with a subsistence economy that requires tight cooperation and coordination, such as farming, while it is high in cultures based on ] and in urban industrial cultures.
* Robbins and Hayes (1995). The role of causal attributions in the prediction of depression. In G.M. Buchanan& M.E.P. Seligman(eds)(1997). ''Explanatory Style''. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp71-98
A cross-cultural study found that the relational mobility is lowest in East Asian countries where ] is common, and highest in South American countries.<ref name="ThomsonEtAl2018">{{cite journal |last1=Thomson |first1=Robert|display-authors=etal|title=Relational mobility predicts social behaviors in 39 countries and is tied to historical farming and threat |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=2018 |volume=115 |issue=29 |pages=7521–7526|doi=10.1073/pnas.1713191115|pmid=29959208|pmc=6055178|bibcode=2018PNAS..115.7521T |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="YukiSchug2012">{{cite book |last1=Yuki |first1=Masaki |last2=Schug |first2=Joanna |editor1-last=Gillath |editor1-first=O. |editor1-link=Omri Gillath |editor2-last=Adams |editor2-first=G. |editor3-last=Kunkel |editor3-first=A. |title=Relationship Science: Integrating Evolutionary, Neuroscience, and Sociocultural Approaches |date=2012 |publisher=American Psychological Association |pages=137–151 |chapter=Relational mobility: A socioecological approach to personal relationships|doi=10.1037/13489-007|hdl=2115/52726 |isbn=978-1-4338-1123-4 |s2cid=53496958 }}</ref>
*Rotter, J.B. (1966). "Generalised expectancies of internal versus external control of reinforcements". Psychological monographs

* Schultz, D.P. & Schultz, S.E. (2005). Theories of Personality (Eight Edition). Wadsworth: Thomson. I.S.B.N.: 0-534-62403-2
==Self-efficacy==
* Sherer, M., Maddux, J. et al. (1982). The self-efficacy scale: Construction and validation. Psychological Reports, 51, 663-671
{{Further|Self-efficacy}}
* Shiraev, E. & Levy, D. (2004). Cross-cultural Psychology: Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications. (Second Edition). Boston: Pearson. ISBN: 0-205-38612-1
Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in their capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/SelfEfficacy/section1.html | title=An Introduction to Self-Efficacy | publisher=Neag Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019063232/http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/Siegle/SelfEfficacy/section1.html | archive-date=October 19, 2015 }}</ref> It is a related concept introduced by ], and has been measured by means of a psychometric scale.{{sfn|Sherer| Maddux | Mercandante|Prentice-Dunn|1982}} It differs from locus of control by relating to competence in circumscribed situations and activities (rather than more general cross-situational beliefs about control). Bandura has also emphasised differences between self-efficacy and ], using examples where low self-efficacy (for instance, in ballroom dancing) are unlikely to result in low self-esteem because competence in that domain is not very important (see ]) to an individual. Although individuals may have a high internal health locus of control and feel in control of their own health, they may not feel efficacious in performing a specific treatment regimen that is essential to maintaining their own health.<ref name="JL reff 5">{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s10578-010-0173-6 |pmid=20204497 |title=Locus of Control and Self-Efficacy: Potential Mediators of Stress, Illness, and Utilization of Health Services in College Students |journal=Child Psychiatry & Human Development |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=353–370 |year=2010 |last1=Roddenberry |first1=Angela |last2=Renk |first2=Kimberly |s2cid=997657 }}</ref> Self-efficacy plays an important role in one's health because when people feel that they have self-efficacy over their health conditions, the effects of their health becomes less of a stressor.
* Smith, R.E. (1989). Effects of coping skills training on generalised self-efficacy and locus of control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56 (2) 228-233

*Wallston, K., Wallston, B. & DeVellis, R. (1978). ''Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology'' '''42''', 148-155.
Smith (1989) has argued that locus of control only weakly measures self-efficacy; "only a subset of items refer directly to the subject's capabilities".{{sfn|Smith|1989| p=229}} Smith noted that training in ] led to increases in self-efficacy, but did not affect locus of control as measured by Rotter's 1966 scale.
*Weiner, B. (1974). (Ed.). ''Achievement Motivation and Attribution Theory''. New Jersey: General Learning Press.

* Weiner, B. (1980). ''Human Motivation'' New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
== Stress ==
*Xenikou, A.; Furnham, A. & McCarrey, M. (1997). "Attributional style for negative events: A proposition for a more valid and reliable measaure of attributional style", ''British Journal of Psychology'' '''88''', 53-69.
The previous section showed how self-efficacy can be related to a person's locus of control, and ] also has a relationship in these areas. Self-efficacy can be something that people use to deal with the stress that they are faced within their everyday lives. Some findings suggest that higher levels of external locus of control combined with lower levels self-efficacy are related to higher illness-related psychological distress.<ref name="JL reff 5"/> People who report a more external locus of control also report more concurrent and future stressful experiences and higher levels of psychological and physical problems.<ref name="LOCpsy"/> These people are also more vulnerable to external influences and as a result, they become more responsive to stress.<ref name="JL reff 5" />

Veterans of the military forces who have spinal cord injuries and post-traumatic stress are a good group to look at in regard to locus of control and stress. Aging shows to be a very important factor that can be related to the severity of the symptoms of ] experienced by patients following the trauma of war.<ref name="JL reff 4">{{cite journal |doi=10.1521/psyc.2006.69.1.69 |pmid=16704333 |title=Spinal Cord Injury, Posttraumatic Stress, and Locus of Control Among the Elderly: A Comparison with Young and Middle–Aged Patients |journal=Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=69–80 |year=2006 |last1=Chung |first1=Man Cheung |last2=Preveza |first2=Eleni |last3=Papandreou |first3=Konstantinos |last4=Prevezas |first4=Nikolaos |s2cid=1821989 }}</ref> Research suggests that patients with a spinal cord injury benefit from knowing that they have control over their health problems and their disability, which reflects the characteristics of having an internal locus of control.

A study by Chung et al. (2006) focused on how the responses of spinal cord injury post-traumatic stress varied depending on age. The researchers tested different age groups including young adults, middle-aged, and elderly; the average age was 25, 48, and 65 for each group respectively. After the study, they concluded that age does not make a difference on how spinal cord injury patients respond to the traumatic events that happened.<ref name="JL reff 4" /> However, they did mention that age did play a role in the extent to which the external locus of control was used, and concluded that the young adult group demonstrated more external locus of control characteristics than the other age groups to which they were being compared.


==See also== ==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* ]
* ]
* ]
* {{sectionlink|Existentialism|Angst and dread}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] – an awareness of making and executing plans
}}


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist}}
===Footnotes===
{{reflist|2}}


==External links== ==Sources==
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0021-843X.87.1.49 |pmid=649856 |title=Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation |journal=Journal of Abnormal Psychology |volume=87 |issue=1 |pages=49–74 |year=1978 |last1=Abramson |first1=Lyn Y |last2=Seligman |first2=Martin E |last3=Teasdale |first3=John D |s2cid=2845204 }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0033-295X.96.2.358 |title=Hopelessness depression: A theory-based subtype of depression |journal=Psychological Review |volume=96 |issue=2 |pages=358–372 |year=1989 |last1=Abramson |first1=Lyn Y |last2=Metalsky |first2=Gerald I |last3=Alloy |first3=Lauren B |s2cid=18511760 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Aldwin |first1=C.M. |last2=Gilmer |first2=D.F. |title=Health, Illness and Optimal Ageing |publisher=Sage |location=London |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7619-2259-9 }}
*{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/0021-9010.90.5.980 |pmid = 16162070|title = Turnover Intentions and Voluntary Turnover: The Moderating Roles of Self-Monitoring, Locus of Control, Proactive Personality, and Risk Aversion|journal = Journal of Applied Psychology|volume = 90|issue = 5|pages = 980–990|year = 2005|last1 = Allen|first1 = David G.|last2 = Weeks|first2 = Kelly P.|last3 = Moffitt|first3 = Karen R.}}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.55.6.979 |title=Validity and utility of the attributional style construct at a moderate level of specificity |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=55 |issue=6 |pages=979–990 |year=1988 |last1=Anderson |first1=Craig A |last2=Jennings |first2=Dennis L |last3=Arnoult |first3=Lynn H |s2cid=144258995 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Berry |first1=J.W. |last2=Poortinga |first2=Y.H. |last3=Segall |first3=M.H. |last4=Dasen |first4=P.R. |title=Cross-cultural Psychology: Research and Applications |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-521-37761-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/crossculturalpsy0000unse }}
*{{cite book |editor=Buchanan, G.M. |editor2=Seligman, M.E.P. |title=Explanatory Style |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |location=NJ |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-8058-0924-4}}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.56.3.471 |title=Explanatory style across the life span: Evidence for stability over 52 years |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=471–477 |year=1989 |last1=Burns |first1=Melanie O |last2=Seligman |first2=Martin E |pmid=2926642}}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.47.5.1043 |title=Cross-situational consistency in causal attributions: Does attributional style exist? |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=47 |issue=5 |pages=1043–1058 |year=1984 |last1=Cutrona |first1=Carolyn E |last2=Russell |first2=Dan |last3=Jones |first3=R. Dallas }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1177/0013164484442004 |title=The Internal Control Index: A Newly Developed Measure of Locus of Control |journal=Educational and Psychological Measurement |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=209–221 |year=1984 |last1=Duttweiler |first1=Patricia C |s2cid=144130334 }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.2044-8295.1993.tb02495.x |pmid=8298858 |title=Measuring locus of control: A critique of general, children's, health- and work-related locus of control questionnaires |journal=British Journal of Psychology |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=443–479 |year=1993 |last1=Furnham |first1=Adrian |last2=Steele |first2=Howard }}
*{{cite book |last1=Eisner |first1=J.E. |chapter=The origins of explanatory style: Trust as a determinant of pessimism and optimism |editor1-last=Buchanan |editor1-first=G.M. |editor2-last=Seligman |editor2-first=M.E.P. |title=Explanatory Style |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |location=NJ |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-8058-0924-4 |pages=49–55 }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0021-843X.89.5.662 |title=Causal perceptions of stressful events in depressed and nondepressed outpatients |journal=Journal of Abnormal Psychology |volume=89 |issue=5 |pages=662–669 |year=1980 |last1=Gong-Guy |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Hammen |first2=Constance |pmid=7410726}}
*{{Cite book|url = https://anchel.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/0/6/2706667/roger_hock_-_forty_studies_that_changed_psychology_6th_edition.pdf|title = Forty Studies that Changed Psychology|isbn = 978-0-13-504507-7|last1 = Hock|first1 = Roger R.|edition = 6th|date = 2008|pages = 192–199|chapter = Are you the master of your fate?|publisher = Pearson|access-date = 2019-12-13|archive-date = 2018-10-24|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181024024618/http://anchel.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/0/6/2706667/roger_hock_-_forty_studies_that_changed_psychology_6th_edition.pdf}}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0278-6133.22.3.294 |pmid=12790257 |title=Spiritual health locus of control and breast cancer beliefs among urban African American women |journal=Health Psychology |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=294–299 |year=2003 |last1=Holt |first1=Cheryl L |last2=Clark |first2=Eddie M |last3=Kreuter |first3=Matthew W |last4=Rubio |first4=Doris M }}
*{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/0278-6133.20.1.33 |pmid=11199063|title = Health locus of control in late life: A study of genetic and environmental influences in twins aged 80 years and older|journal = Health Psychology|volume = 20|issue=1|pages = 33–40|year = 2001|last1 = Johansson|first1 = Boo|last2 = Grant|first2 = Julia D.|last3 = Plomin|first3 = Robert|last4 = Pedersen|first4 = Nancy L.|last5 = Ahern|first5 = Frank|last6 = Berg|first6 = Stig|last7 = McClearn|first7 = Gerald E.}}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/h0036222 |title=Personality and achievement correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=29 |issue=6 |pages=812–818 |year=1974 |last1=Kahoe |first1=Richard D }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/h0023116 |pmid=5325292 |title=Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A review |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=65 |issue=4 |pages=206–220 |year=1966 |last1=Lefcourt |first1=Herbert M }}
*{{cite book |last1=Lefcourt |first1=H.M. |title=Locus of Control: Current Trends in Theory and Research |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |location=NJ |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-470-15044-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/locusofcontrolcu0000lefc }}
*{{cite book |last1=Maltby |first1=J. |last2=Day |first2=L. |last3=Macaskill |first3=A. |title=Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence |publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall |location=Harlow |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-13-129760-9 |edition=1st }}
*{{cite journal |last=Meyerhoff |first=Michael K |title=Locus of Control |year=2004 |journal=Pediatrics for Parents |volume=21 |issue=10 |page=8 }} ] {{dead link|date=June 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}.
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1521/jscp.1988.7.2-3.97 |title=Real Events Attributional Style Questionnaire |journal=Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology |volume=7 |issue=2–3 |pages=97–100 |year=1988 |last1=Norman |first1=Paul D |last2=Antaki |first2=Charles }}
*{{cite book |last1=Norman |first1=P. |last2=Bennett |first2=P. |chapter=Health Locus of Control |editor1-last=Conner |editor1-first=M. |editor2-last=Norman |editor2-first=P. |title=Predicting Health Behaviour |publisher=Open University Press |location=Buckingham |year=1995 |pages=62–94 }} ] .
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/h0033978 |title=A locus of control scale for children |journal=Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology |volume=40 |pages=148–154 |year=1973 |last1=Nowicki |first1=Stephen |last2=Strickland |first2=Bonnie R |s2cid=40029563 }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF01173577 |title=The attributional Style Questionnaire |journal=Cognitive Therapy and Research |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=287–299 |year=1982 |last1=Peterson |first1=Christopher |last2=Semmel |first2=Amy |last3=von Baeyer |first3=Carl |last4=Abramson |first4=Lyn Y |last5=Metalsky |first5=Gerald I |last6=Seligman |first6=Martin E. P |s2cid=30737751 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Robbins |last2=Hayes |chapter=The role of causal attributions in the prediction of depression |editor1-last=Buchanan |editor1-first=G.M. |editor2-last=Seligman |editor2-first=M.E.P. |title=Explanatory Style |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |location=NJ |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-8058-0924-4 |pages=71–98 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Rotter |first1=J.B. |title=Social learning and clinical psychology |publisher=Prentice-Hall |location=NY |year=1954 }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/h0092976 |title=Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement |journal=Psychological Monographs: General and Applied |volume=80 |pages=1–28 |year=1966 |last1=Rotter |first1=Julian B |issue=1 |pmid=5340840 |s2cid=15355866 }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/h0076301 |title=Some problems and misconceptions related to the construct of internal versus external control of reinforcement |journal=Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology |volume=43 |pages=56–67 |year=1975 |last1=Rotter |first1=Julian B }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0003-066X.45.4.489 |title=Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A case history of a variable |journal=American Psychologist |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=489–493 |year=1990 |last1=Rotter |first1=Julian B |s2cid=41698755 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Schultz |first1=D.P. |last2=Schultz |first2=S.E. |title=Theories of Personality |publisher=Thomson |location=Wadsworth |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-534-62402-6 |edition=8th }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.2466/pr0.1982.51.2.663 |title=The Self-Efficacy Scale: Construction and Validation |journal=Psychological Reports |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=663–671 |year=1982 |last1=Sherer |first1=Mark |last2=Maddux |first2=James E |last3=Mercandante |first3=Blaise |last4=Prentice-Dunn |first4=Steven |last5=Jacobs |first5=Beth |last6=Rogers |first6=Ronald W |s2cid=144745134 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Shiraev |first1=E. |last2=Levy |first2=D. |title=Cross-cultural Psychology: Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications |publisher=Pearson |location=Boston |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-205-38612-3 |edition=2nd |url=https://archive.org/details/crossculturalpsy00shir |url-access=registration }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.56.2.228 |title=Effects of coping skills training on generalized self-efficacy and locus of control |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=228–233 |year=1989 |last1=Smith |first1=Ronald E |pmid=2926626 |s2cid=14092752 }}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Weiner|editor-first=B. |title=Achievement Motivation and Attribution Theory |publisher=General Learning Press |location=NY |year=1974 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Weiner |first1=B. |title=Human Motivation |publisher=Holt, Rinehart and Winston |location=New York |year=1980 }}
*{{cite book | last= Whyte| first= C.| title=An Integrated Counseling and Learning Assistance Center|date=1980|series=New Directions Sourcebook-Learning Assistance Centers|publisher=Jossey-Bass, Inc.}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Whyte |first1=C. |title=Effective Counseling Methods for High-Risk College Freshmen |journal=Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=198–200 |date=1978 |id={{ERIC|EJ177217}} |doi=10.1080/00256307.1978.12022132 }}
*{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.2044-8295.1997.tb02620.x |title=Attributional style for negative events: A proposition for a more reliable and valid measure of attributional style |journal=British Journal of Psychology |volume=88 |pages=53–69 |year=1997 |last1=Xenikou |first1=Athena |last2=Furnham |first2=Adrian |last3=McCarrey |first3=Michael }}


==Bibliography==
*
* R. Gross, P. Humphreys, ''Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour'' Psychology Press, 1994, {{ISBN|978-0-340-58736-2}}.

==External links==
* *
*
*
*
External link for Attributional Style:
*


{{Conspiracy theories}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Locus Of Control}}
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Latest revision as of 13:06, 15 December 2024

Concept in psychology This article is about Locus of control. For other uses, see Locus.
A person with an external locus of control attributes academic success or failure to luck or chance, a higher power or the influence of another person, rather than their own actions. They also struggle more with procrastination and difficult tasks.

Locus of control is the degree to which people believe that they, as opposed to external forces (beyond their influence), have control over the outcome of events in their lives. The concept was developed by Julian B. Rotter in 1954, and has since become an aspect of personality psychology. A person's "locus" (plural "loci", Latin for "place" or "location") is conceptualized as internal (a belief that one can control one's own life) or external (a belief that life is controlled by outside factors which the person can not influence, or that chance or fate controls their lives).

Individuals with a strong internal locus of control believe events in their life are primarily a result of their own actions: for example, when receiving an exam result, people with an internal locus of control tend to praise or blame themselves and their abilities. People with a strong external locus of control tend to praise or blame external factors such as the teacher or the difficulty of the exam.

Locus of control has generated much research in a variety of areas in psychology. The construct is applicable to such fields as educational psychology, health psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, and clinical psychology. Debate continues whether domain-specific or more global measures of locus of control will prove to be more useful in practical application. Careful distinctions should also be made between locus of control (a personality variable linked with generalized expectancies about the future) and attributional style (a concept concerning explanations for past outcomes), or between locus of control and concepts such as self-efficacy.

Locus of control is one of the four dimensions of core self-evaluations – one's fundamental appraisal of oneself – along with neuroticism, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. The concept of core self-evaluations was first examined by Judge, Locke, and Durham (1997), and since has proven to have the ability to predict several work outcomes, specifically, job satisfaction and job performance. In a follow-up study, Judge et al. (2002) argued that locus of control, neuroticism, self-efficacy, and self-esteem factors may have a common core.

History

Weiner's attribution theory as
applied to student motivation
Perceived locus of control
Internal External
Attributions of control Ability Hardness of tasks
Attributions of no control Effort Luck or fate

Locus of control as a theoretical construct derives from Julian B. Rotter's (1954) social learning theory of personality. It is an example of a problem-solving generalized expectancy, a broad strategy for addressing a wide range of situations. In 1966 he published an article in Psychological Monographs which summarized over a decade of research (by Rotter and his students), much of it previously unpublished. In 1976, Herbert M. Lefcourt defined the perceived locus of control: "...a generalised expectancy for internal as opposed to external control of reinforcements". Attempts have been made to trace the genesis of the concept to the work of Alfred Adler, but its immediate background lies in the work of Rotter and his students. Early work on the topic of expectations about control of reinforcement had been performed in the 1950s by James and Phares (prepared for unpublished doctoral dissertations supervised by Rotter at Ohio State University).

Another Rotter student, William H. James studied two types of "expectancy shifts":

  • Typical expectancy shifts, believing that success (or failure) would be followed by a similar outcome
  • Atypical expectancy shifts, believing that success (or failure) would be followed by a dissimilar outcome

Additional research led to the hypothesis that typical expectancy shifts were displayed more often by those who attributed their outcomes to ability, whereas those who displayed atypical expectancy were more likely to attribute their outcomes to chance. This was interpreted that people could be divided into those who attribute to ability (an internal cause) versus those who attribute to luck (an external cause). Bernard Weiner argued that rather than ability-versus-luck, locus may relate to whether attributions are made to stable or unstable causes.

Rotter (1975, 1989) has discussed problems and misconceptions in others' use of the internal-versus-external construct.

Personality orientation

Rotter (1975) cautioned that internality and externality represent two ends of a continuum, not an either/or typology. Internals tend to attribute outcomes of events to their own control. People who have internal locus of control believe that the outcomes of their actions are results of their own abilities. Internals believe that their hard work would lead them to obtain positive outcomes. They also believe that every action has its consequence, which makes them accept the fact that things happen and it depends on them if they want to have control over it or not. Externals attribute outcomes of events to external circumstances. A person with an external locus of control will tend to believe that their present circumstances are not the effect of their own influence, decisions, or control, and even that their own actions are a result of external factors, such as fate, luck, history, the influence of powerful forces, or individually or unspecified others (such as governmental entities; corporations; racial, religious, ethnic, or fraternal groups; sexes; political affiliations; outgroups; or even perceived individual personal antagonists) and/or a belief that the world is too complex for one to predict or influence its outcomes. Laying blame on others for one's own circumstances with the implication one is owed a moral or other debt is an indicator of a tendency toward an external locus of control. It should not be thought, however, that internality is linked exclusively with attribution to effort and externality with attribution to luck (as Weiner's work – see below – makes clear). This has obvious implications for differences between internals and externals in terms of their achievement motivation, suggesting that internal locus is linked with higher levels of need for achievement. Due to their locating control outside themselves, externals tend to feel they have less control over their fate. People with an external locus of control tend to be more stressed and prone to clinical depression.

Internals were believed by Rotter (1966) to exhibit two essential characteristics: high achievement motivation and low outer-directedness. This was the basis of the locus-of-control scale proposed by Rotter in 1966, although it was based on Rotter's belief that locus of control is a single construct. Since 1970, Rotter's assumption of uni-dimensionality has been challenged, with Levenson (for example) arguing that different dimensions of locus of control (such as beliefs that events in one's life are self-determined, or organized by powerful others and are chance-based) must be separated. Weiner's early work in the 1970s suggested that orthogonal to the internality-externality dimension, differences should be considered between those who attribute to stable and those who attribute to unstable causes.

This new, dimensional theory meant that one could now attribute outcomes to ability (an internal stable cause), effort (an internal unstable cause), task difficulty (an external stable cause) or luck (an external, unstable cause). Although this was how Weiner originally saw these four causes, he has been challenged as to whether people see luck (for example) as an external cause, whether ability is always perceived as stable, and whether effort is always seen as changing. Indeed, in more recent publications (e.g. Weiner, 1980) he uses different terms for these four causes (such as "objective task characteristics" instead of "task difficulty" and "chance" instead of "luck"). Psychologists since Weiner have distinguished between stable and unstable effort, knowing that in some circumstances effort could be seen as a stable cause (especially given the presence of words such as "industrious" in English).

Regarding locus of control, there is another type of control that entails a mix among the internal and external types. People who have the combination of the two types of locus of control are often referred to as bi-locals. People who have bi-local characteristics are known to handle stress and cope with their diseases more efficiently by having the mixture of internal and external locus of control. People who have this mix of loci of control can take personal responsibility for their actions and the consequences thereof while remaining capable of relying upon and having faith in outside resources; these characteristics correspond to the internal and external loci of control, respectively.

Measuring scales

The most widely used questionnaire to measure locus of control is the 23-item (plus six filler items), forced-choice scale of Rotter (1966). However, this is not the only questionnaire; Bialer's (1961) 23-item scale for children predates Rotter's work. Also relevant to the locus-of-control scale are the Crandall Intellectual Ascription of Responsibility Scale (Crandall, 1965) and the Nowicki-Strickland Scale (Nowicki & Strickland 1973). One of the earliest psychometric scales to assess locus of control (using a Likert-type scale, in contrast to the forced-choice alternative measure in Rotter's scale) was that devised by W. H. James for his unpublished doctoral dissertation, supervised by Rotter at Ohio State University; however, this remains unpublished.

Many measures of locus of control have appeared since Rotter's scale. These were reviewed by Furnham and Steele (1993) and include those related to health psychology, industrial and organizational psychology and those specifically for children (such as the Stanford Preschool Internal-External Scale for three- to six-year-olds). Furnham and Steele (1993) cite data suggesting that the most reliable, valid questionnaire for adults is the Duttweiler scale. For a review of the health questionnaires cited by these authors, see "Applications" below.

The Duttweiler (1984) Internal Control Index (ICI) addresses perceived problems with the Rotter scales, including their forced-choice format, susceptibility to social desirability and heterogeneity (as indicated by factor analysis). She also notes that, while other scales existed in 1984 to measure locus of control, "they appear to be subject to many of the same problems". Unlike the forced-choice format used on Rotter's scale, Duttweiler's 28-item ICI uses a Likert-type scale in which people must state whether they would rarely, occasionally, sometimes, frequently or usually behave as specified in each of 28 statements. The ICI assess variables pertinent to internal locus: cognitive processing, autonomy, resistance to social influence, self-confidence and delay of gratification. A small (133 student-subject) validation study indicated that the scale had good internal consistency reliability (a Cronbach's alpha of 0.85).

Attributional style

Main article: Explanatory style

Attributional style (or explanatory style) is a concept introduced by Lyn Yvonne Abramson, Martin Seligman and John D. Teasdale. This concept advances a stage further than Weiner, stating that in addition to the concepts of internality-externality and stability a dimension of globality-specificity is also needed. Abramson et al. believed that how people explained successes and failures in their lives related to whether they attributed these to internal or external factors, short-term or long-term factors, and factors that affected all situations.

The topic of attribution theory (introduced to psychology by Fritz Heider) has had an influence on locus of control theory, but there are important historical differences between the two models. Attribution theorists have been predominantly social psychologists, concerned with the general processes characterizing how and why people make the attributions they do, whereas locus of control theorists have been concerned with individual differences.

Significant to the history of both approaches are the contributions made by Bernard Weiner in the 1970s. Before this time, attribution theorists and locus of control theorists had been largely concerned with divisions into external and internal loci of causality. Weiner added the dimension of stability-instability (and later controllability), indicating how a cause could be perceived as having been internal to a person yet still beyond the person's control. The stability dimension added to the understanding of why people succeed or fail after such outcomes.

Applications

Locus of control's best known application may have been in the area of health psychology, largely due to the work of Kenneth Wallston. Scales to measure locus of control in the health domain were reviewed by Furnham and Steele in 1993. The best-known are the Health Locus of Control Scale and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, or MHLC. The latter scale is based on the idea (echoing Levenson's earlier work) that health may be attributed to three sources: internal factors (such as self-determination of a healthy lifestyle), powerful others (such as one's doctor) or luck (which is very dangerous as lifestyle advice will be ignored – these people are very difficult to help).

Some of the scales reviewed by Furnham and Steele (1993) relate to health in more specific domains, such as obesity (for example, Saltzer's (1982) Weight Locus of Control Scale or Stotland and Zuroff's (1990) Dieting Beliefs Scale), mental health (such as Wood and Letak's (1982) Mental Health Locus of Control Scale or the Depression Locus of Control Scale of Whiteman, Desmond and Price, 1987) and cancer (the Cancer Locus of Control Scale of Pruyn et al., 1988). In discussing applications of the concept to health psychology Furnham and Steele refer to Claire Bradley's work, linking locus of control to the management of diabetes mellitus. Empirical data on health locus of control in a number of fields was reviewed by Norman and Bennett in 1995; they note that data on whether certain health-related behaviors are related to internal health locus of control have been ambiguous. They note that some studies found that internal health locus of control is linked with increased exercise, but cite other studies which found a weak (or no) relationship between exercise behaviors (such as jogging) and internal health locus of control. A similar ambiguity is noted for data on the relationship between internal health locus of control and other health-related behaviors (such as breast self-examination, weight control and preventive-health behavior). Of particular interest are the data cited on the relationship between internal health locus of control and alcohol consumption.

Norman and Bennett note that some studies that compared alcoholics with non-alcoholics suggest alcoholism is linked to increased externality for health locus of control; however, other studies have linked alcoholism with increased internality. Similar ambiguity has been found in studies of alcohol consumption in the general, non-alcoholic population. They are more optimistic in reviewing the literature on the relationship between internal health locus of control and smoking cessation, although they also point out that there are grounds for supposing that powerful-others and internal-health loci of control may be linked with this behavior. It is thought that, rather than being caused by one or the other, that alcoholism is directly related to the strength of the locus, regardless of type, internal or external.

They argue that a stronger relationship is found when health locus of control is assessed for specific domains than when general measures are taken. Overall, studies using behavior-specific health locus scales have tended to produce more positive results. These scales have been found to be more predictive of general behavior than more general scales, such as the MHLC scale. Norman and Bennett cite several studies that used health-related locus-of-control scales in specific domains (including smoking cessation), diabetes, tablet-treated diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, cancer, and heart and lung disease.

They also argue that health locus of control is better at predicting health-related behavior if studied in conjunction with health value (the value people attach to their health), suggesting that health value is an important moderator variable in the health locus of control relationship. For example, Weiss and Larsen (1990) found an increased relationship between internal health locus of control and health when health value was assessed. Despite the importance Norman and Bennett attach to specific measures of locus of control, there are general textbooks on personality which cite studies linking internal locus of control with improved physical health, mental health and quality of life in people with diverse conditions: HIV, migraines, diabetes, kidney disease and epilepsy.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Whyte correlated locus of control with the academic success of students enrolled in higher-education courses. Students who were more internally controlled believed that hard work and focus would result in successful academic progress, and they performed better academically. Those students who were identified as more externally controlled (believing that their future depended upon luck or fate) tended to have lower academic-performance levels. Cassandra B. Whyte researched how control tendency influenced behavioral outcomes in the academic realm by examining the effects of various modes of counseling on grade improvements and the locus of control of high-risk college students.

Rotter also looked at studies regarding the correlation between gambling and either an internal or external locus of control. For internals, gambling is more reserved. When betting, they primarily focus on safe and moderate wagers. Externals, however, take more chances and, for example, bet more on a card or number that has not appeared for a certain period, under the notion that this card or number has a higher chance of occurring, a belief known as the gambler's fallacy.

Organizational psychology and religion

Other fields to which the concept has been applied include industrial and organizational psychology, sports psychology, educational psychology and the psychology of religion. Richard Kahoe has published work in the latter field, suggesting that intrinsic religious orientation correlates positively (and extrinsic religious orientation correlates negatively) with internal locus. Of relevance to both health psychology and the psychology of religion is the work of Holt, Clark, Kreuter and Rubio (2003) on a questionnaire to assess spiritual-health locus of control. The authors distinguished between an active spiritual-health locus of control (in which "God empowers the individual to take healthy actions") and a more passive spiritual-health locus of control (where health is left up to God). In industrial and organizational psychology, it has been found that internals are more likely to take positive action to change their jobs (rather than merely talk about occupational change) than externals. Locus of control relates to a wide variety of work variables, with work-specific measures relating more strongly than general measures. In Educational setting, some research has shown that students who were intrinsically motivated had processed reading material more deeply and had better academic performance than students with extrinsic motivation.

Consumer research

Locus of control has also been applied to the field of consumer research. For example, Martin, Veer and Pervan (2007) examined how the weight locus of control of women (i.e., beliefs about the control of body weight) influence how they react to female models in advertising of different body shapes. They found that women who believe they can control their weight ("internals"), respond most favorably to slim models in advertising, and this favorable response is mediated by self-referencing. In contrast, women who feel powerless about their weight ("externals"), self-reference larger-sized models, but only prefer larger-sized models when the advertisement is for a non-fattening product. For fattening products, they exhibit a similar preference for larger-sized models and slim models. The weight locus of control measure was also found to be correlated with measures for weight control beliefs and willpower.

Political ideology

Locus of control has been linked to political ideology. In the 1972 U.S. presidential election, research of college students found that those with an internal locus of control were substantially more likely to register as a Republican, while those with an external locus of control were substantially more likely to register as a Democratic. A 2011 study surveying students at Cameron University in Oklahoma found similar results, although these studies were limited in scope. Consistent with these findings, Kaye Sweetser (2014) found that Republicans significantly displayed greater internal locus of control than Democrats and Independents.

Those with an internal locus of control are more likely to be of higher socioeconomic status, and are more likely to be politically involved (e.g., following political news, joining a political organization) Those with an internal locus of control are also more likely to vote.

Familial origins

The development of locus of control is associated with family style and resources, cultural stability and experiences with effort leading to reward. Many internals have grown up with families modeling typical internal beliefs; these families emphasized effort, education, responsibility and thinking, and parents typically gave their children rewards they had promised them. In contrast, externals are typically associated with lower socioeconomic status. Societies experiencing social unrest increase the expectancy of being out-of-control; therefore, people in such societies become more external.

The 1995 research of Schneewind suggests that "children in large single parent families headed by women are more likely to develop an external locus of control" Schultz and Schultz also claim that children in families where parents have been supportive and consistent in discipline develop internal locus of control. At least one study has found that children whose parents had an external locus of control are more likely to attribute their successes and failures to external causes. Findings from early studies on the familial origins of locus of control were summarized by Lefcourt: "Warmth, supportiveness and parental encouragement seem to be essential for development of an internal locus". However, causal evidence regarding how parental locus of control influences offspring locus of control (whether genetic, or environmentally mediated) is lacking.

Locus of control becomes more internal with age. As children grow older, they gain skills which give them more control over their environment. However, whether this or biological development is responsible for changes in locus is unclear.

Age

Some studies showed that with age people develop a more internal locus of control, but other study results have been ambiguous. Longitudinal data collected by Gatz and Karel imply that internality may increase until middle age, decreasing thereafter. Noting the ambiguity of data in this area, Aldwin and Gilmer (2004) cite Lachman's claim that locus of control is ambiguous. Indeed, there is evidence here that changes in locus of control in later life relate more visibly to increased externality (rather than reduced internality) if the two concepts are taken to be orthogonal. Evidence cited by Schultz and Schultz (2005) suggests that locus of control increases in internality until middle age. The authors also note that attempts to control the environment become more pronounced between ages eight and fourteen.

Health locus of control is how people measure and understand how people relate their health to their behavior, health status and how long it may take to recover from a disease. Locus of control can influence how people think and react towards their health and health decisions. Each day we are exposed to potential diseases that may affect our health. The way we approach that reality has a lot to do with our locus of control. Sometimes it is expected to see older adults experience progressive declines in their health, for this reason it is believed that their health locus of control will be affected. However, this does not necessarily mean that their locus of control will be affected negatively but older adults may experience decline in their health and this can show lower levels of internal locus of control.

Age plays an important role in one's internal and external locus of control. When comparing a young child and an older adult with their levels of locus of control in regards to health, the older person will have more control over their attitude and approach to the situation. As people age they become aware of the fact that events outside of their own control happen and that other individuals can have control of their health outcomes.

A study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine examined the health effect of childhood locus of control. 7,500 British adults (followed from birth), who had shown an internal locus of control at age 10, were less likely to be overweight at age 30. The children who had an internal locus of control also appeared to have higher levels of self-esteem.

Gender-based differences

As Schultz and Schultz (2005) point out, significant gender differences in locus of control have not been found for adults in the U.S. population. However, these authors also note that there may be specific sex-based differences for specific categories of items to assess locus of control; for example, they cite evidence that men may have a greater internal locus for questions related to academic achievement.

A study made by Takaki and colleagues (2006), focused on the sex or gendered differences with relationship to internal locus of control and self-efficacy in hemodialysis patients and their compliance. This study showed that women who had high internal locus of control were less compliant in regards to their health and medical advice compared to the men that participated in this study. Compliance is known to be the degree in which a person's behavior, in this case the patient, has a relationship with the medical advice. For example, a person that is compliant will correctly follow his/her doctor's advice.

Cross-cultural and regional issues

The question of whether people from different cultures vary in locus of control has long been of interest to social psychologists.

Japanese people tend to be more external in locus-of-control orientation than people in the U.S.; however, differences in locus of control between different countries within Europe (and between the U.S. and Europe) tend to be small. As Berry et al. pointed out in 1992, ethnic groups within the United States have been compared on locus of control; African Americans in the U.S. are more external than whites when socioeconomic status is controlled. Berry et al. also pointed out in 1992 how research on other ethnic minorities in the U.S. (such as Hispanics) has been ambiguous. More on cross-cultural variations in locus of control can be found in Shiraev & Levy (2004). Research in this area indicates that locus of control has been a useful concept for researchers in cross-cultural psychology.

On a less broad scale, Sims and Baumann explained how regions in the United States cope with natural disasters differently. The example they used was tornados. They "applied Rotter's theory to explain why more people have died in tornados in Alabama than in Illinois". They explain that after giving surveys to residents of four counties in both Alabama and Illinois, Alabama residents were shown to be more external in their way of thinking about events that occur in their lives. Illinois residents, however, were more internal. Because Alabama residents had a more external way of processing information, they took fewer precautions prior to the appearance of a tornado. Those in Illinois, however, were more prepared, thus leading to fewer casualties.

Later studies find that these geographic differences can be explained by differences in relational mobility. Relational mobility is a measure of how much choice individuals have in terms of whom to form relationships with, including friendships, romantic partnerships, and work relations. Relational mobility is low in cultures with a subsistence economy that requires tight cooperation and coordination, such as farming, while it is high in cultures based on nomadic herding and in urban industrial cultures. A cross-cultural study found that the relational mobility is lowest in East Asian countries where rice farming is common, and highest in South American countries.

Self-efficacy

Further information: Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in their capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments. It is a related concept introduced by Albert Bandura, and has been measured by means of a psychometric scale. It differs from locus of control by relating to competence in circumscribed situations and activities (rather than more general cross-situational beliefs about control). Bandura has also emphasised differences between self-efficacy and self-esteem, using examples where low self-efficacy (for instance, in ballroom dancing) are unlikely to result in low self-esteem because competence in that domain is not very important (see valence) to an individual. Although individuals may have a high internal health locus of control and feel in control of their own health, they may not feel efficacious in performing a specific treatment regimen that is essential to maintaining their own health. Self-efficacy plays an important role in one's health because when people feel that they have self-efficacy over their health conditions, the effects of their health becomes less of a stressor.

Smith (1989) has argued that locus of control only weakly measures self-efficacy; "only a subset of items refer directly to the subject's capabilities". Smith noted that training in coping skills led to increases in self-efficacy, but did not affect locus of control as measured by Rotter's 1966 scale.

Stress

The previous section showed how self-efficacy can be related to a person's locus of control, and stress also has a relationship in these areas. Self-efficacy can be something that people use to deal with the stress that they are faced within their everyday lives. Some findings suggest that higher levels of external locus of control combined with lower levels self-efficacy are related to higher illness-related psychological distress. People who report a more external locus of control also report more concurrent and future stressful experiences and higher levels of psychological and physical problems. These people are also more vulnerable to external influences and as a result, they become more responsive to stress.

Veterans of the military forces who have spinal cord injuries and post-traumatic stress are a good group to look at in regard to locus of control and stress. Aging shows to be a very important factor that can be related to the severity of the symptoms of PTSD experienced by patients following the trauma of war. Research suggests that patients with a spinal cord injury benefit from knowing that they have control over their health problems and their disability, which reflects the characteristics of having an internal locus of control.

A study by Chung et al. (2006) focused on how the responses of spinal cord injury post-traumatic stress varied depending on age. The researchers tested different age groups including young adults, middle-aged, and elderly; the average age was 25, 48, and 65 for each group respectively. After the study, they concluded that age does not make a difference on how spinal cord injury patients respond to the traumatic events that happened. However, they did mention that age did play a role in the extent to which the external locus of control was used, and concluded that the young adult group demonstrated more external locus of control characteristics than the other age groups to which they were being compared.

See also

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