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Effects of loss of freedom on subjects with internal or external locus of control*1
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between internal versus external locus of control of reinforcement and counter control or reactance in subjects in a verbal learning experiment. Internal and external controllers were given either a choice or no choice of material to be learned in a paired associate, anticipation task (after Monty & Perlmuter, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1972, 94, 235–238). As hypothesized, the lack of freedom of choice was associated with counter control (decreased recall) in internals. Being able to choose material lead to faster learning for both internals and externals after first trial recall.
... The extant literature has consistently demonstrated that ILOC could alleviate the negative consequences of the external environment (e.g., Rashid & Talib, 2013). For example, compared with people with low ILOC, people with high ILOC generally cope better with stress and anxiety (Lefcourt, 2014) and demonstrate greater resilience to negative events (Moyer, 1978). In the same vein, even if anomie induces BZSG, it is reasonable to speculate that individuals with high ILOC would be less affected by such belief. ...
Greed is associated with many negative consequences. However, knowledge regarding why and when people behave greedily is limited. Anomie is the perception of the disordering of social structures, destruction of social regulations, and breaking down of moral standards. The current study explored the relationship between anomie and greed, the underlying mechanism and the boundary condition of this relationship. A sample of 279 parti- cipants (Mage = 35.85, SD = 8.74) completed the questionnaire sets and passed the validity checks. The results indicated that anomie was positively associated with greed and that belief in a zero-sum game (BZSG) partially mediated this relationship. Moreover, the effect was moderated by internal locus of control (ILOC). Specifically, an indirect relationship was found only among people with low ILOC but not those with high ILOC. The theo- retical implications of the results and future research directions are discussed.
... Several other examples of the behavior-moderating effect of locus of control have been reported. Imposing external strictures on the freedom to choose between task options may elicit a resistive re action from internals resulting in poor performance (Moyer 1978). Rates of cheating behavior have been seen to be determined partially by a congruence between internal ity-externality and the perceived cause of task success (skill vs luck); that is, internals were more likely to report having correctly solved an insoluble puzzle when it was seen as a skilled task than externals, who were more likely to cheat when task performance was interpreted as chance deter mined (Karabenick & Srull 1978). ...
... Reactance is the concept that people defy attempts by authority to restrict personal freedom of thoughts or behaviors (Brehm, 1966). It is hypothesized that reactance is related to aggression, altruism, depression, mood change, frustration, social power, selfawareness, locus of control, and compliance (Merz, 1983;Brehm, 1966;Swat, Ickes, & Morgenthaler, 1978;Moyer, 1978). Despite the apparent benefits of understanding more about reactance, few research studies have analyzed the components of reactance (Tucker & Byers, 1987). ...
Factor loading instability is common in single administration human subject data. Factor loading instability results in poor interpretation of the factor pattern. However, Monte Carlo simulations have shown that averaging data across multiple administrations reduces unexplained error, increases the amount of explained variance, and stabilizes factor patterns. In the present study, the Questionnaire for the Measurement of Psychological Reactance (QMPR) was administered to participants multiple times. The data were averaged and then analyzed using principle components factor analysis with varimax rotation. The study results demonstrated a significant increase in explained variance and factor pattern stability and improved interpretability. .
Based on two theoretical models-psychological reactance theory (PRT) and locus of control-this study examines the individual and joint effects of locus of control and controlling language on young adults' information processing. Two experimental studies on anti-driving-after-drinking (anti-DAD) and antismoking public service announcements (PSAs) were conducted that were conceptual replications of each other. Both studies afforded evidence that those with external locus of control were more involved in risky behaviors. There was a consistent interaction between locus of control and controlling language, such that those with internal locus of control were more sensitive to this message feature compared to those with external locus of control. Controlling language was found to increase reactance. The theoretical and managerial implications for health communication are elaborated. Limitations and directions for future research are also outlined.
This article examines how uncertain situations of threat or opportunity influence people’s choices to interact with their colleagues in an organization. The threat/opportunity lens encompasses two conceptually distinct dimensions, gain/loss and control/limited control, which are hypothesized to produce different patterns of network interaction. Two experimental studies—one involving 158 leaders in a health-care organization and the other involving 129 employees in a range of smaller establishments—provided support for the proposed conceptualization. The studies found that (1) people chose to interact with more network contacts in situations of loss than in situations of gain, (2) those with an internal locus of control chose to interact with more network contacts in situations of limited control than in situations of control, whereas those with an external locus of control exhibited the opposite response, and (3) the tendency to interact with more network contacts in loss rather than gain was greater for low-ranking actors relative to high-ranking ones. These findings contribute to our understanding of the interplay between individual cognition and organizational social networks.
Merz's Psychological Reactance Scale was translated from German and based on responses of 218 college students. Via factor analysis with principal factors followed by a Direct Quartimin rotation, researchers noted an orthogonal two-factor solution which contrasts with Merz's four and suggests thorough psychometric work is needed.
This study contributes to the debate over how much control over instruction should be given to different types of learners and how much control should be left to the computer program in computer-based instruction. The effect of locus of control and student control over branching on ability to locate the answers contained in computer screens to a paper-and-pencil list of questions and the ability to retain learned information is explored. Student control conditions were branching for review only and total branching control to any topic in the sequence. Results using two-way analyses of variance indicated that students with high internality scores and computer sequence control over only review retrieved the most correct information. Students with control over only review retained the most correct information, regardless of locus of control scores. Students with higher internality scores also scored better on one of the software's two internal performance scores. Grade-point average was also positively correlated with accuracy of retrieval and retention.
Over the past twenty years, gang prevalence, the number of gang members nationwide, and the seriousness of their impact on society, particularly schools, have increased significantly. The purpose of this article is to analyze Inoculation Theory, a process by which attitude transformation can be resisted during social interactions that involve persuasive messages designed to change existing attitudes, and to promote its application as a solid method for preventing youths from joining gangs in and nearby schools. This analysis is original and unique in that Inoculation Theory has not yet been applied in the reduction of violence and crime in youths.
80 undergraduates, randomly chosen from a group of 200 Ss who had been administered Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, were exposed to a bogus task situation and then given free time. Leisure experience was operationalized as the extent to which Ss became absorbed or achieved flow in a game. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) focused on freedom of choice, locus of control, and setting structure. Locus of control acted as a moderator variable in conditions of low setting structure. Externally oriented Ss failed to become more absorbed in the game with greater objective choice compared with internals. The impact of personality was suppressed when setting structure was high with both internals and externals showing greater absorption with greater objective freedom of choice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Conducted 2 experiments in paired-associate learning in which 20 undergraduates were permitted to choose their responses from alternatives following the procedure of L. C. Perlmuter, R. A. Monty, and G. A. Kimble . The other 20 Ss were forced to learn the responses chosen by their yoked masters. Both groups of Ss were forced to learn an interposed A-C list following the choice-force procedure but prior to learning the A-B list. The performance of force Ss was reliably superior to that of choice Ss on A-C; however, when both groups learned A-B, the typical facilitative effect of choice was disturbed. In Exp II with 40 undergraduates, interposing a C-D list produced equivalent performance in both groups on C-D. Similarly, the facilitative effect of choice was not observed on the subsequent A-B trials. The degraded performance of choice Ss is discussed in terms of frustration as an additional source of motivation.
Evaluated the performance of 3 nursery-school children in a 2-option keypressing task. An instruction was given in each trial to respond on 1 of the keys, as designated by color or form cues. Several reinforcement schedules for compliance were presented. High rates of noncompliance were produced by contingencies favoring this choice. Noncompliant responding showed persistent generalization to new color and form cues and in the presence of a new E, even though contingencies did not favor generalization. Noncompliance also persisted for many sessions when contingencies were revised to favor compliance. Results have implications for the study of generalized imitation, generalized compliance, and the problem of noncompliance in problem children. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the effect of giving 120 undergraduates the opportunity to choose the response materials they wish to learn in a paired-associate task. A paradigm was used which manipulated the amount of choice allowed during the selection procedure and the locus or point at which choice took place. Results show that locus of choice was an extremely powerful variable and that if properly manipulated, choosing only 3 responses in a 12-item list elevated performance to a level near that of a 12-item list in which all responses were chosen. Motivational mechanisms are postulated to account for these findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined the effect of giving Ss the opportunity to choose learning materials in a paired-associate paradigm. 4 studies using high- and low-meaning materials and employing between- and within-Ss designs were conducted with 40 undergraduates in the 1st 2 and 21 Ss in the others. Use of a between-Ss design showed that A-B learning was facilitated by choice with high-meaning but not low-meaning materials. Using a within-Ss design in which Ss chose 5 stimulus-response (S-R) pairs and were forced to learn 5 others, results show performance on the forced pairs was elevated to the level of the choice pairs. These data suggest that allowing Ss the opportunity to choose at least some S-R pairs generally facilitates performance through the operation of a proposed motivational mechanism which may also benefit learning of nonchosen S-R pairs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Conducted 3 paired-associate learning experiments with a total of 120 male and female undergraduates. Under some conditions, a-b learning was facilitated when ss chose responses to be learned on a subsequent a-b list. Ss who chose their a-b responses and were subsequently forced to learn a competing set of material (a-c) showed a relatively greater disruption of learning than ss who did not have the opportunity to choose either a-b or a-c. All of these effects required that when ss chose their responses, the choosing occurred in the presence of their respective stimuli. Simply choosing responses in the absence of the stimuli produced performance which was not different from that resulting when ss were denied the opportunity to choose their responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The effects of reward or reinforcement on preceding behavior depend in part on whether the person perceives the reward as contingent on his own behavior or independent of it. Acquisition and performance differ in situations perceived as determined by skill versus chance. Persons may also differ in generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. This report summarizes several experiments which define group differences in behavior when Ss perceive reinforcement as contingent on their behavior versus chance or experimenter control. The report also describes the development of tests of individual differences in a generalized belief in internal-external control and provides reliability, discriminant validity and normative data for 1 test, along with a description of the results of several studies of construct validity.
GROUPS OF SS, 17-46 YR. OLD COLLEGE STUDENTS, WERE USED TO SCALE 925 NOUNS ON ABSTRACTNESS-CONCRETENESS (C), IMAGERY (I), AND MEANINGFULNESS (M). CONCRETENESS WAS DEFINED IN TERMS OF DIRECTNESS OF REFERENCE TO SENSE EXPERIENCE, AND I, IN TERMS OF WORD'S CAPACITY TO AROUSE NONVERBAL IMAGES; C AND I WERE RATED ON 7-POINT SCALES. MEANINGFULNESS WAS DEFINED IN TERMS OF THE MEAN NUMBER OF WRITTEN ASSOCIATIONS IN 30 SEC. THE MEAN SCALE VALUES FOR THESE VARIABLES ARE PRESENTED FOR EACH OF THE 925 NOUNS. ALSO REPORTED ARE THE INTERCORRELATIONS OF THE VARIABLES, TOGETHER WITH AN EXAMINATION OF THE WORDS FOR WHICH C, I, AND M VALUES ARE MOST CLEARLY DIFFERENTIATED; AND RELIABILITY DATA, INCLUDING COMPARISONS WITH SCALE VALUES FOR THE VARIABLES FROM OTHER STUDIES. (45 REF.)
This study predicted that an internal orientation measured by Rotter's I-E scale would be associated with successful self-modification of diverse behaviors. Of 45 undergraduates who attempted self-modification, 14 subjects showed significant (p<.05) positive changes in level or slope from pre- to postintervention using time-series analyses. These 14 most successful subjects were compared to the 14 least successful subjects. The results confirmed the hypothesis that most successful subjects were significantly more internal than least successful subjects. Also, most successful subjects rated their project as significantly more successful and had significantly higher course grades.
SS WERE TESTED ON THE EYSENCK PERSONALITY INVENTORY AND PUT INTO 4 GROUPS: NEUROTIC-EXTRAVERTS, STABLE-EXTRAVERTS, NEUROTIC-INTROVERTS, AND STABLE-INTROVERTS. SS WERE TESTED ON EITHER AN EASY LIST (LOW STIMULUS-LOW RESPONSE SIMILARITY) OR A DIFFICULT LIST (LOW STIMULUS-HIGH RESPONSE SIMILARITY) OF 7 PAIRS OF NONSENSE SYLLABLES. IT WAS PREDICTED AND CONFIRMED THAT EXTRAVERTS LEARNED FASTER ON BOTH LISTS. MODERATE ANXIETY, DETERMINED BY THE RELATIONSHIP OF NEUROTICISM AND EXTRAVERSION-INTROVERSION, WAS SHOWN TO FACILITATE LEARNING THE EASY LIST, WHILE LOW ANXIETY WAS SUPERIOR FOR LEARNING THE DIFFICULT LIST. AN EXPLANATION OF THIS FINDING WAS ATTEMPTED IN TERMS OF HIGHER CORTICAL AROUSAL IN INTROVERTS, FACILITATING CONSOLIDATION AND INTERFERING WITH INTEGRATION OF LEARNED MATERIAL. THE OBSERVED LIST DIFFICULTY * PERSONALITY INTERACTION WAS INTERPRETED IN TERMS OF THE YERKES-DODSON LAW. (24 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study dealt with the relationship between Locus of Control and imitation. Based on a review of the social influence literature, it was hypothesized that external individuals would imitate equally under a condition of model-reward and a condition of no model-reward. It was further hypothesized that internal subjects would demonstrate more imitation under a condition of model-reward than under the condition of no model-reward. Male college students were classified as internal or external on the basis of their scores on the Locus of Control Scale. Internals imitated a rewarded model significantly more than a nonrewarded model. Externals imitated both models equally and at a rate comparable to internals who observed a rewarded model. Subject ratings of model competence were also positively related to imitation among internals but not among externals. The results are interpreted as offering support for the general notion of the effect of observer characteristics on imitation.
Individual differences in cognition were studied in the form of the hypothesis that arousal, as indexed by personality measures of extraversion and neuroticism, affects the way in which verbal material is organized in memory. Subjects pretested on measures of these personality variables participated in either a paired-associates learning or a free-recall experiment. On the paired-associates task, subjects who were thought to be high on arousal made fewer errors when response terms were semantically similar than low arousal subjects. On the other hand, subjects thought low on arousal made fewer errors when response words were phonetically similar than high arousal subjects. On the free-recall task, low arousal subjects were found to cluster words together on the basis of semantic category at a higher rate than high arousal subjects. These results were taken to support the view that high arousal (as indexed by personality measures) leads to a focus on the physical aspects of verbal material, whereas low arousal leads to a memory organized around semantic aspects. The implications of these findings for other views of memory are discussed.
2 separate studies are reported, each using subjects in grades ranging from elementary school through high school. The predictor measures in both cases were the degree to which the child perceives that he, rather than someone or something else, causes his successes and his failures in academic-intellectual situations. The dependent variables were two measures of academic performance: course grades, and achievement test scores. While prediction of girls' performance scores was equally consistent from beliefs in their own instrumentality for successes and for failures, boys' performance scores were more consistently related to beliefs in responsibility for failure. In general, there was greater consistency of prediction across age levels for grades received than for achievement test scores.