Presentation on Hock Chpt 7
“Are You the Master of Your Fate?”
MATTHEW ABBOTT
PHILLIP GRONEWOLD
RUSSELL KENNERLY
KATE LYON
DANIEL SCHLANGEN
Julian Rotter
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies
for internal versus external control of
reinforcement. Psychological Monographs,
80,1-28.
Locus of Control

External Locus of Control: Consequences
of behavior controlled by luck, fate, or
powerful others

Internal Locus of Control: Consequences
attributed to person’s behavior or personality
characteristic
Rotter’s Social Learning Theory

Person’s tendency to view events from
internal/external locus of control can be
explained by SLT

Children may grow up with two different
types of reinforcement:
–
–
Frequent experiences in which behavior
influences reinforcement
Reinforcement appears to result from actions
outside of themselves
Rotter’s Social Learning Theory

Leads to generalized expectancy about
whether reinforcement is internally or
externally controlled

Generalized expectancies result in different
actions in specific conditions
Locus of Control Study

Wanted to demonstrate two main points:
–
–

A test could be developed to reliably measure the
extent to which individuals possess internal or
external locus of control
People will display individual differences in
interpretations of causes of reinforcement when
facing the same situation
Compared behavior of internals vs. externals
in numerous contexts
Method: I-E Scale

Designed scale containing series of pairs of
statements
–
–
–
Each pair consisted of one statement reflecting
internal locus of control and one reflecting
external locus of control
Participants asked which they believed to be
more true
Could not designate neither or both
Method: I-E Scale Examples

Question 1
–
–

Many of the unhappy things in people's lives are
partly due to bad luck.
People's misfortunes result from the mistakes
they make.
Question 2
–
–
Becoming a success is a matter of hard work;
luck has little or nothing to do with it.
Getting a good job depends mainly on being in
the right place at the right time.
Method: I-E Scale Fillers

Six filler items were added to disguise the
true method or purpose of the test, e.g.:
–
–
Children get into trouble because their parents
punish them too much.
The trouble with most children nowadays is that
their parents are too easy with them.
Results

Rotter found a correlation found between I-E
Scores and life situations such as:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Gambling
Political Activism
Persuasion
Smoking
Achievement Motivation
Conformity
Results

Gambling
–
–

Internals prefer to bet on sure things and tend to
stay with intermediate odds
Externals tend to wager more money on risky
bets and engage more in the gambler’s fallacy
Political Activism
–
Those who participated in marches and civil rights
groups were generally more internally oriented
Results

Persuasion
–
–

Internals are significantly more successful than
externals in altering the moods of others
Internals are more resistant to manipulation by
others
Smoking
–
–
Smokers tend to be more external than nonsmokers
Those who quit after the Surgeon General’s warning
was put on cigarette packs were more internally
oriented
Results

Achievement Motivation
–
–

Internals spent more time studying in high school
Internals had plans to attend college
Conformity
–
–
Internals conform less to majority than externals
Internals trust themselves more on making
judgments opposite the majority than the
externals
Discussion

Rotter proposed that the development of an
internal or external orientation was due to
three potential influences:
–
–
–

Cultural differences
Socioeconomic differences
Variations in styles of parenting
Rotter referred to several other studies for
support
Conclusions




The locus of control is a definable
characteristic
The locus of control can be measured
The I-E Scale provides consistent results
Locus of control operates fairly consistently
across various situations
Conclusions


There are benefits to having an internal locus
of control
Internals are more likely to:
–
–
–
–
Gain information from the situations in their life
and improve future behavior to similar situations
Take the initiative to change and improve their life
conditions
Place greater value on inner skill and
achievement in goals
Be more resistant to manipulation by others
Subsequent Research

Strickland (1977) found internals generally
take more responsibility for their own health
and have lower stress levels

Research solidifying Rotter’s view of
parenting style’s effect on locus of control

Sims and Baumann (1972) found internal
orientation promotes life saving behaviors in
catastrophic events
Subsequent Research

Yang and Clum (2000) found that external
locus of control and low self-esteem,
depression and suicidal tendencies are
related

Welton (1996) found externals that perceive
control by a higher power do not suffer the
normal external’s problems
Questions

Is a locus of control consistent over time?

Is a locus of control consistent across similar
situations?
Questions

Is a locus of control learned?

Do people have an innate bias towards being
internal or external?
Question

Can an individual change his/her locus of
control?
Question

What do you think would happen if someone
with an internal locus of control set out to
change a situation that is not changeable?