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The relationship between locus of control and psychotherapy: A review of the literature

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Abstract

A survey of the literature reveals that the locus of control (LOC) construct has been empirically associated with psychotherapy, i.e., as a causal or mediating factor, as well as an end goal in the treatment process. The present paper critically reviews the evidence with respect to the interactive relationship between LOC and psychotherapy. The review is divided into 4 sections: effect of therapeutic intervention upon LOC, effect of LOC upon therapy outcome, effect of LOC on therapy process, and influence of LOC on client × modality. Findings generally indicate that LOC has been systematically modified by several therapeutic approaches and within various S populations. Further studies are needed to examine the impact of direct and mediating mechanisms contributing to change in LOC expectancies, the dynamics of LOC in relationship to general psychotheraptic success, generalizability of results to other populations, and permanence of LOC modification over time. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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
... Yet it has been noted that a practice orientation which does not enable attribution of problem causation to the social system may be inappropriate or even dysfunctional for many black clients (Banks, 1972;Hayes and Banks, 19'i2). Others have viewed attribution of causality to factors located within the individual as desirable for competent practitioners (Ijefcourt, 1966) and for clients as well (e.g., Baker 1979). ...
... Internality has been associated with such adaptive behavior as intellectual ability and achievement, positive self-concept, mastery, willingness to help others, and acquisition of helping skills (Midlarski, 1971;Lefcourt, 1976;Baker, 1979). Indeed an external orientation has been widely viewed as maladaptive (Lefcourt, 1966) such that increasing clients' internality has been, implicitly or explicitly, one of the major purposes of psychotherapy and social intervention programs (6aker, 1979). ...
... This builds on past research by addressing several o f the methodological limitations identified above. Specifically, this study used Rotter's LOC scale, a frequently employed measure of in ternal or external LOC across a wide range of domains, including psychotherapy outcomes and academic or occupational achievement (Baker, 1979;Parker, 2003). We also used an empirically-supported paradigm to induce psychosocial stress, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum, Pirke, & Hellhammer, 1993). ...
... In this study, the authors concluded this happened in reac tion to layoffs in a steel working plant and were a reflection of the real constraints and opportunities an individual experiences in chronic unemployment or underemployment situations. Further, psychotherapy research has shown that LOC can be malleable and changes toward a more internal LOC over the course o f therapy (Baker, 1979). Future research should examine whether one can manipulate perceptions of control, perhaps by priming an internal LOC to determine whether this develops resistance to mood and physiological reactivity. ...
Article
Previous studies have found that an individual’s perception of control in a situation (Locus of Control; LOC) can serve as a protective factor that has physiological and psychological benefits. The present study examines LOC in an acute stress paradigm to examine the relationship between LOC and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning as well as between LOC and performance. One hundred and thirteen participants at a metropolitan university were randomly assigned to either a stress or control condition. The stress condition consisted of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) while the control condition consisted of viewing a neutral travel video. Salivary cortisol was measured at four time points before and after exposure to the assigned condition. A mock job interview speech in the TSST was recorded and evaluated for performance on eight dimensions. LOC significantly predicted cortisol reactivity to the stressor in a multiple linear regression model. In addition, LOC was a significant predictor o f speech performance in a simple regression model. Cortisol was not related to speech performance, and LOC did not moderate this relationship, although LOC uniquely predicted speech performance. This research adds to a growing body of literature demonstrating physiological and functional influences of LOC orientation.
... Several studies have found an association between LoC and psychotherapy outcomes (Delsignore and Schnyder, 2007). This association has been attributed to therapy engagement with those with an internal LoC assumed more likely to take an active role in therapy whereas those with external control beliefs more likely to take a passive role (Baker, 1979). While this effect has primarily been demonstrated in predominantly individualistic cultures a question is whether this generalizes to refugee populations with collectivistic cultural backgrounds, in which less value might be placed on perceived control (Wrightson and Wardle, 1997), or in which repeated traumatic experiences may have fostered the development of external control beliefs (Papanikolaou et al., 2013). ...
Article
Introduction: Little is known about predictors of psychotherapy outcome in trauma-affected refugees. Knowledge on outcome predictors can help clinicians identify patients prior to treatment who are not likely to benefit from standardized psychotherapy and take additional measures to adjust treatment to the individual patient. Given the dynamic nature of psychotherapy readiness domains, they represent potential targets to be worked with in therapy in order to improve outcomes. Methods: Psychotherapy readiness domains (locus of control, cognitive functioning, motivation for therapy, and personality functioning) were examined as potential predictors of psychotherapy outcome in trauma-affected refugees. Secondary analyses were conducted on data from a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Study participants (N = 190) were refugees with PTSD who received flexible manual-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) at a psychiatric outpatient clinic in Denmark. Psychotherapy readiness domains were assessed via semi-structured interviews at the beginning of psychotherapy. Outcome variables were pre-post change in PTSD symptomology and global level of functioning. Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed that higher motivation for psychotherapy predicted improvement in PTSD symptomology and global level of functioning. Moreover, higher cognitive functioning predicted improvement in global level of functioning. Limitations: The predictor rating scales need further psychometric evaluations in cross-cultural contexts. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of considering motivation in psychotherapy offered to trauma-affected refugees. Further research is needed to identify potential barriers to motivation in this diverse patient population and to determine whether motivational interventions can lead to improved treatment outcomes.
... However, external LoC is associated with increased depression, anxiety, stress (Kurtovic et al., 2018), and different personality factors, such as high neuroticism (Horner, 1996) and low openness to experience (Sherman et al., 1973;Kobasa et al., 1982;Taylor, 1983). Assessment of LoC is beneficial in different therapeutic interventions (Baker, 1979;Delsignore and Schnyder, 2007). Individuals with internal LoC are more receptive to the information (Cavaiola and Strohmetz, 2009), more resilient and hopeful than individuals with external LoC, thus facilitating the favorable outcome in the psychotherapy (Foon, 1987). ...
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