Locus of Control

• What is locus of control?

  Refers to the sense we each have about direct events in our lives. Internals believe they are mostly responsible for what happens to them (internal locus of control). Externals believe it is mainly a matter of luck or other outside forces (external locus of control).
• What did Rotter mean by a person's 'locus of control?'

  A concept concerned with internal versus external control. Some people (internals) believe that the things that happen to them are largely controlled by themselves, e.g. doing well in an exam because you worked hard.
• Explain how an individual's locus of control could be measured?

  There is a continuum with high internal LOC at the end and high external LOC at the other end of the continuum, with low internal and low external lying in between.
• What is a continuum?

  A continuous sequence or range.
• Characteristics of someone with a high internal locus of control (internals):

  Believe that the things that happen to them are largely controlled by themselves. E.g. if you do well in an exam it is because you worked hard, if you don't do well it is because you didn't work hard.
• Characteristics of someone with a high external locus of control (externals):

  Believe that things happen without their control. E.g. performing well in an exam due to an excellent textbook or bad luck as questions were hard.
• People with a high internal LOC...

  • tend to be more self-confident
  • more achievement-oriented
  • have higher intelligence
  • have less need for social approval


  These personality traits lead to greater resistance to social influence.