It's Beyond My Control: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of Increasing Externality in Locus of Control, 1960-2002

2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean M. Twenge ◽  
Liqing Zhang ◽  
Charles Im
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
College Student ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
External Locus ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Meta Analyses

Two meta-analyses found that young Americans increasingly believe their lives are controlled by outside forces rather than their own efforts. Locus of control scores became substantially more external (about .80 standard deviations) in college student and child samples between 1960 and 2002. The average college student in 2002 had a more external locus of control than 80% of college students in the early 1960s. Birth cohort/time period explains 14% of the variance in locus of control scores. The data included 97 samples of college students (n = 18,310) and 41 samples of children ages 9 to 14 (n = 6,554) gathered from dissertation research. The results are consistent with an alienation model positing increases in cynicism, individualism, and the self-serving bias. The implications are almost uniformly negative, as externality is correlated with poor school achievement, helplessness, ineffective stress management, decreased self-control, and depression.

scholarly journals Locus of control, academic self-concept, and academic dishonesty among high ability college students

2014 ◽  
pp. 88-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Rinn ◽  
Janette Boazman ◽  
Ann Jackson ◽  
Brenda Barrio
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
College Students ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Academic Dishonesty ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
High Ability ◽  
Southwestern United States ◽  
External Locus ◽  
Control Scale

The purposes of the current study were to evaluate a measure of academic dishonesty and examine high ability college students’ loci of control and its effect on behaviors of academic dishonesty, as moderated by academic self-concept. A total of 357 high ability college students enrolled at two universities in the southwestern United States took part in this study. Variables and the moderation of academic self-concept were examined for the aggregate group (n = 357) and for the disaggregate honors and non-honors groups. Students completed the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966), the Self-Description Questionnaire III (Marsh, 1989), and a scale to measure academic dishonesty based on the work of Geddes (2011). A 17-item measure of academic dishonesty was developed. Results indicate locus of control does not significantly predict academic dishonesty for the non-honors group, but several relationships were found among variables for the aggregate group and for the honors and non-honors groups.

scholarly journals A Meta-analysis of Functional Neuroimaging Studies of Self- and Other Judgments Reveals a Spatial Gradient for Mentalizing in Medial Prefrontal Cortex

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1742-1752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan T. Denny ◽  
Hedy Kober ◽  
Tor D. Wager ◽  
Kevin N. Ochsner
Keyword(s):  
Functional Organization ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Self ◽  
Spatial Gradient ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
Medial Pfc ◽  
Meta Analyses

The distinction between processes used to perceive and understand the self and others has received considerable attention in psychology and neuroscience. Brain findings highlight a role for various regions, in particular the medial PFC (mPFC), in supporting judgments about both the self and others. We performed a meta-analysis of 107 neuroimaging studies of self- and other-related judgments using multilevel kernel density analysis [Kober, H., & Wager, T. D. Meta-analyses of neuroimaging data. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews, 1, 293–300, 2010]. We sought to determine what brain regions are reliably involved in each judgment type and, in particular, what the spatial and functional organization of mPFC is with respect to them. Relative to nonmentalizing judgments, both self- and other judgments were associated with activity in mPFC, ranging from ventral to dorsal extents, as well as common activation of the left TPJ and posterior cingulate. A direct comparison between self- and other judgments revealed that ventral mPFC as well as left ventrolateral PFC and left insula were more frequently activated by self-related judgments, whereas dorsal mPFC, in addition to bilateral TPJ and cuneus, was more frequently activated by other-related judgments. Logistic regression analyses revealed that ventral and dorsal mPFC lay at opposite ends of a functional gradient: The z coordinates reported in individual studies predicted whether the study involved self- or other-related judgments, which were associated with increasingly ventral or dorsal portions of mPFC, respectively. These results argue for a distributed rather than localizationist account of mPFC organization and support an emerging view on the functional heterogeneity of mPFC.

scholarly journals It's time: A meta-analysis on the self-control-deviance link

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 48-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander T. Vazsonyi ◽  
Jakub Mikuška ◽  
Erin L. Kelley
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control

Internal vs External Locus of Control and the Use of Self-Reinforcement

1972 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 723-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Bellack
Keyword(s):  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Verbal Discrimination ◽  
The Self ◽  
Use Of Self ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
External Locus ◽  
Initial Learning ◽  
External Locus Of Control

All Ss received training on a verbal discrimination task with E reinforcing correct responses. After training to a 60% criterion E ceased administering reinforcement and Ss were instructed to reinforce themselves after correct responses. Ss were divided into internal and external locus of control groups; during the self-reinforcement phase, half of each group received the same stimuli as during training and half received a generalization set. There were no differences between internals and externals in total self-reinforcement used or in its correctness. Internals made fewer correct responses and gave more incorrect self-reinforcement despite a lack of differences in initial learning. Results and implications were discussed in terms of the identification and establishment of reinforcement contingencies by the two locus of control types.

Self-Statements, Locus of Control, and Depression in Predicting Self-Esteem

1995 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 1007-1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent D. Philpot ◽  
W. Bruce Holliman ◽  
Stephen Madonna
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Beck Depression Inventory ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
External Locus ◽  
Control Scale ◽  
Adult Form ◽  
Automatic Thought ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
The Relationship

The contributions of frequency of positive and negative self-statements and their ratio, locus of control, and depression in prediction of self-esteem were examined. Volunteers were 145 college students (100 women and 45 men) who were administered the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory-Adult Form, Automatic Thought Questionnaire—Revised, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale. Intercorrelations suggested significant relationships among variables. The magnitude of the relationship was strongest between the frequency of negative self-statements and self-esteem. These results are consistent with and lend further support to prior studies of Kendall, et al. and Schwartz and Michaelson.

Locus of Control and the Fundamental Dimensions of Moods

1998 ◽  
Vol 82 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1335-1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather N. Henson ◽  
Edward C. Chang
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Positive Mood ◽  
External Locus ◽  
Internal Locus ◽  
Internal Locus Of Control ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
External Locus Of Control

The present study examined the association between locus of control and positive and negative moods in 253 college students. Using the PANAS-X, designed by Watson and Clark, individuals scoring high on internal locus of control also scored higher across different dimensions of positive mood. Conversely, individuals scoring high on external locus of control had higher scores across different dimensions of negative mood.

Relationship between Locus of Control and Irrational Beliefs

1981 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip G. Wright ◽  
R. O. Pihl
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Irrational Beliefs ◽  
Irrational Belief ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
External Locus ◽  
Irrational Thinking ◽  
External Locus Of Control

College students (40 male and 40 female) were administered Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control (I-E) Scale and the Irrational Beliefs Test. A significant correlation of .41 was found indicating a moderately strong relationship between externality and extent of irrational thinking. Five of 10 irrational belief scales, Demand for approval, Frustration reactive, Anxious overconcern, Dependency, and Helplessness, were also significantly positively correlated with extetnality ( rs ranging from .22 to .40). The results were interpreted as reinforcing an association between externality and maladjustment.

Depression, Suicidal Ideation, and Locus of Control

1993 ◽  
Vol 76 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1282-1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lester
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
External Locus ◽  
School Students ◽  
External Locus Of Control

In 97 high school students, lower external locus of control scores were associated weakly with suicidal preoccupation, in contrast to the results of an earlier study of college students.

scholarly journals Attitudes Towards Self-change: A Comparison of Japanese and American University Students

1995 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Crystal ◽  
Kazuo Kato ◽  
Sheryl Olson ◽  
Hirozumi Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
College Students ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
University Students ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
American University

This study examined attitudes related to the possibility of changing cognitions and behaviours among samples of college students in the United States and Japan. Students were asked to identify three things about themselves that they wanted to change, the method they would use to effect these changes, how difficult they thought making such changes would be, and how much they desired to make the changes. Japanese and US students differed significantly in the frequency with which they mentioned all seven aspects of the self that were targeted for change. Students in the United States expressed a desire to improve their sociability, academic achievement and cognitive abilities, physical appearance, and sense of individuality. Students in Japan were most concerned about enhancing their relationships with others, self-control and motivation, and ability to manage practical affairs. In addition, US respondents were more likely than their Japanese counterparts to use behaviour-oriented strategies, to believe it was easy to make self-changes, and to indicate a strong desire to improve the self. The findings are discussed in the context of theories describing different cultural construals of self, and of empirical research on differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultures.

scholarly journals Reported self-control is not meaningfully associated with inhibition-related executive function: A Bayesian analysis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blair Saunders ◽  
Marina Milyavskaya ◽  
Alexander Etz ◽  
Daniel Randles ◽  
Michael Inzlicht
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Control Scale ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Many

Self-control is assessed using a remarkable array of measures. In a series of five data-sets (overall N = 2,641) and a mini meta-analysis, we explored the association between canonical operationalisations of self-control: The Self-Control Scale and two measures of inhibition-related executive functioning (the Stroop and Flanker paradigms). Overall, Bayesian correlational analyses suggested little-to-no relationship between self-reported self-control and performance on the Stroop and Flanker tasks. The Bayesian meta-analytical summary of all five data-sets further favoured a null relationship between both types of measurement. These results suggest that the field’s most widely used measure of self-reported self-control is uncorrelated with two of the most widely adopted executive functioning measures of self-control. Consequently, theoretical and practical conclusions drawn using one measure (e.g., the Self-Control Scale) cannot be generalised to findings using the other (e.g., the Stroop task). The lack of empirical correlation between measures of self-control do not invalidate either measure, but instead suggest that treatments of the construct of self-control need to pay greater attention to convergent validity among the many measures used to operationalize self-control.

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