Locus of Control

• Locus of control refers to the extent to which someone believes that they have control over- and responsibility fro- their lives rather than attributing outcomes to external factors.
• Rotter designed a scale to measure locus of control which assesses the extent to which someone uses a predominantly internal or external locus of control.
• High internal locus of control is evident in people who feel they have control over their lives and responsibility for their behaviour.
• People with a high internal locus of control can resist pressure to conform and obey as they adhere to a high set of standards that they have designated themselves.
• People with a high internal locus of control tend to be self-confident, intelligent and achievement-orirentated
• High external locus of control is evident in people who feel that they have no control over their lives and assume a lack of responsibility for their behaviour.
• People with a high external locus of control are less able to resist pressure to conform and obey as they believe that other external factors determine the outcomes.
• People with a high external locus of control tend to lack confidence, feel insecure and have high need for social approval.
• There is strong research supporting locus of control. Holland repeated Milgrams experiment and found that 37%of participants who refused to continue to 450 volts had a high internal locus of control compared to 24% who had a high external locus of control.
• Rotter pointed out that locus of control only seems to apply in new situations. If someone has previously obeyed/conformed in one specific situation, they will likely do so again, regardless of their level of lucus of control.