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PSYCHOTHERAPY:
THEORY,
RESEARCH
AND
PRACTICE
VOLUME
16, #3, FALL,
1979
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOCUS OF CONTROL AND PSYCHOTHERAPY:
A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
ELLEN K. BAKER
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN47401
ABSTRACT:
A survey of
the
literature reveals that the
LOC construct has been empirically associated with
psychotherapy; that is, as a causal or mediating fac-
tor, as well as an end-goal in the treatment process.
The purpose of this paper is to critically review the
evidence with respect to the interactive relationship
between LOC and psychotherapy. The review is di-
vided into four sections: effect of therapeutic inter-
vention upon LOC; effect of LOC upon therapy out-
come; effect of LOC on therapy process; and in-
fluence of LOC on client x modality. While findings
generally indicate that LOC has been systematically
modified by several therapeutic approaches and
within various subject populations, further studies are
needed to examine the impact of direct and mediating
mechanisms contributing to change in LOC expectan-
cies;
the dynamics of LOC in relationship to general
psychotheraptic success; generalizability of results to
other populations; and permanence of LOC modifica-
tion over time.
Psychology's curiosity about the individual's
ability to control his/her personal world has been
evidenced by conceptualizations such as compe-
tence (White, 1959), inner/other directedness
(Riesman, 1950), Adler's construal of superior-
ity striving (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1964) and
helplessness (Seligman, 1975). One such con-
struct which has received a remarkable amount
of application since its formation is that of locus
of control (LOC). Developed by social learning
theorist, J. B. Rotter (1966), the LOC construct
is posited as a generalized expectancy regarding
reinforcement contingencies. An individual who
generally views reinforcement as being a con-
sequence of his/her own actions, and therefore
under personal control, is typically characterized
Appreciation
is
extended
to
Leon
H.
Levy
for his
construc-
tive
comments
on an
earlier draft
of the
manuscript.
as having an internal locus of control. Alterna-
tively, the person who perceives consequences
to be unrelated to personal behavior, a matter of
chance, or under the influence of powerful
others, is viewed as having an external orienta-
tion.
As a predictor of individual differences, inter-
nal and external LOC have typically tended to
discriminate subject attributes. A multitude of
empirical investigations have reported an associ-
ation between internality and adaptive be-
haviors, such as intellectual ability and achieve-
ment (Powell & Vega, 1972), mastery of the
environment (Lefcourt & Wine, 1969), positive
self concept (Kuypers, 1972) and life satisfac-
tion (Palmore
&
Luikart, 1972).
At the same time, externality has tended to be
empirically related to dysfunction such as anx-
iety (Liberty et al., 1966), defensiveness (Phares
et al., 1971), depression (Abramowitz, 1969),
and schizophrenia (Harrow & Ferrante, 1969).
These latter associations prompted Lefcourt
(1976,
p. 95) to conclude that, "there is enough
convergence of theoretical and empirical data to
support the assumption of correlation between
locus of control and psychopathology. What is
missing are the factual details that are needed to
fill in the gaps related to the specific questions of
who and why."
In treating pathology, one of the major pur-
poses of psychotherapy is to help the client learn
to effect a degree of control over his or her life
events. An effort is made to assist the patient in
learning to recognize and understand the rela-
tionship between his or her behavior, and his or
her difficulties. The intention of therapy is that
the client will learn to make changes in his or her
behavior that will improve his or her condition
(Burton, 1972). Singer, in Key Concepts in Psy-
351