
Locus of control is a psychological term that was developed by Julian B. Rotter in the 1950s. It refers to an individual's beliefs about what determines their rewards or outcomes in life. Locus of control can be internal or external. An individual with an internal locus of control believes that their rewards in life are guided by their own decisions and efforts. They believe that their actions have an impact and that they can influence their chances of future success. Research shows that students with an internal locus of control have higher academic achievement than students with an external locus of control. This is because they believe that hard work and focus will result in academic progress, so they tend to study longer and spend more time on their homework.
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What You'll Learn
- Students with an internal locus of control believe their success or failure is a result of their effort and hard work
- Locus of control is a psychological concept referring to how strongly people believe they have control over situations and experiences that affect their lives
- Students with an internal locus of control are more likely to work hard to learn, progress and succeed
- Attribution training can strengthen a student's internal locus of control
- Students with an internal locus of control believe their rewards in life are guided by their own decisions and efforts

Students with an internal locus of control believe their success or failure is a result of their effort and hard work
Locus of control is a psychological concept that refers to how strongly people believe they have control over the situations and experiences that affect their lives. The locus of control can be internal or external. An internal locus of control refers to the belief that one's actions determine the outcome of a situation, whereas an external locus of control refers to the belief that outcomes are determined by external factors beyond one's control, such as luck, fate, or chance.
Students with an internal locus of control believe that their academic success or failure is a result of their effort and hard work. They take responsibility for their outcomes and are more likely to work hard to achieve their desired results. For example, if a student with an internal locus of control receives a poor grade on an exam, they may attribute it to a lack of effort or inadequate preparation. As a result, they are more likely to change their study habits or seek additional resources to improve their performance. This belief in the impact of their actions can lead to higher academic achievement.
On the other hand, students with an external locus of control tend to attribute their success or failure to external factors beyond their control. They may blame their poor grades on unfair teachers, biased assessments, or difficult circumstances. As a result, they may feel less motivated to put in the effort, believing that their hard work will not make a difference. This external locus of control can lead to lower academic performance and a sense of learned helplessness.
Educators can play a crucial role in strengthening students' internal locus of control. Techniques such as attribution training can help students believe that they have more control over their academic achievements. This training encourages students to associate their successes or failures with their actions and to internalize positive messages about their ability to influence outcomes. Structured and supportive classrooms can also benefit students with an external locus of control, helping them feel more empowered and motivated.
It is important to note that locus of control exists on a continuum. Most people fall somewhere between the extremes of internal and external control. Additionally, an individual's locus of control can change depending on the context and their experiences. While an internal locus of control is generally associated with higher academic achievement, there may be situations where external factors significantly influence outcomes, and adjusting one's perspective to consider these factors can be beneficial.
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Locus of control is a psychological concept referring to how strongly people believe they have control over situations and experiences that affect their lives
Locus of control is a psychological concept that refers to how strongly people believe they have control over situations and experiences that affect their lives. It is the extent to which people feel they have control over events that impact their lives. It was first theorised by Julian B. Rotter in 1954 as part of his social learning theory of personality. In 1966, he published a scale to measure and assess external and internal loci of control. This scale has been widely used but criticised for its simplistic nature.
Locus of control is often discussed as internal versus external. People with an internal locus of control believe that their actions determine outcomes. They feel that they hold the keys to their fate and are more likely to take responsibility and change their situation when needed. For example, a student with an internal locus of control who doesn't receive a good grade on an exam may conclude that they didn't study enough and will try harder next time.
On the other hand, people with an external locus of control believe that outcomes are determined by external factors beyond their control, such as luck, chance, or powerful others. They may feel that they are at the mercy of outside forces and are less likely to work towards change. For instance, a student with an external locus of control who receives a poor grade may blame an unfair teacher or a difficult test.
The concept of locus of control has significant applications in psychology, including in education, health, and clinical psychology. In education, it is thought to influence academic motivation, persistence, and achievement. Students with an internal locus of control are considered more likely to work hard and persist in the belief that their efforts will pay off. They are also more likely to thrive in unstructured learning environments. Conversely, students with an external locus of control may believe that working hard is pointless and may benefit from more structured classrooms.
It is important to note that locus of control exists on a continuum. Most people lie somewhere between the two extremes of complete internal or external control. Additionally, locus of control can be altered through techniques like attribution training, which aims to strengthen an individual's internal locus of control.
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Students with an internal locus of control are more likely to work hard to learn, progress and succeed
Locus of control is a psychological concept that refers to how strongly people believe they have control over the situations and experiences that affect their lives. The concept was first introduced by Julian B. Rotter in 1954 and further developed in 1966, when he published a scale to measure internal and external locus of control. This scale, however, has been criticised for its simplistic approach.
Internal locus of control refers to the belief that one's actions determine the outcome of a situation. Students with an internal locus of control generally believe that their success or failure is a result of the effort and hard work they invest in their education. They are more likely to work hard to learn, progress and succeed. For example, if a student with an internal locus of control doesn't receive a good grade on an exam, they will attribute this to a lack of effort and will try harder next time.
On the other hand, external locus of control refers to the belief that outcomes in life are determined by external factors beyond one's control, such as luck, fate, or chance. Students with an external locus of control are more likely to believe that working hard is pointless because their future is not in their hands. For instance, a student with an external locus of control may blame an unfair teacher or a difficult test for their poor performance, rather than their own lack of effort.
The locus of control can greatly affect a student's academic achievement. Students with an internal locus of control tend to have higher academic performance levels, while those with an external locus of control tend to have lower performance levels. This may be because students with an internal locus of control believe that hard work and focus will lead to academic success, and they are therefore more motivated to put in the effort.
Educators can use various strategies to encourage students to develop an internal locus of control, such as attribution training, which involves teaching students to internalise positive messages about their ability to influence outcomes through their actions. This can help increase motivation and improve academic outcomes.
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Attribution training can strengthen a student's internal locus of control
Locus of control is a psychological concept that refers to how strongly people believe they have control over the situations and experiences that affect their lives. It was derived from Julian B. Rotter's (1954) social learning theory of personality. In 1966, Rotter published a scale to measure and assess external and internal locus of control. According to this scale, if you believe that you have control over what happens, you have what psychologists refer to as an internal locus of control. On the other hand, if you believe that you have no control over what happens and that external variables are to blame, you have what is known as an external locus of control.
In education, locus of control typically refers to how students perceive the causes of their academic success or failure in school. Students with an internal locus of control generally believe that their success or failure is a result of the effort and hard work they invest in their education. They believe that their rewards in life are guided by their own decisions and efforts. For example, if a student with an internal locus of control doesn't receive a good grade on an exam, they will conclude that they did not study enough and will try harder next time. These students are also more likely to work hard to learn, progress, and succeed.
Students with an external locus of control, on the other hand, generally believe that their successes or failures result from external factors beyond their control, such as luck, fate, circumstance, or unfair teachers. They believe that rewards or outcomes in life are determined by forces beyond their control. For instance, a student with an external locus of control may blame an unfair teacher or test for their poor performance. These students are more likely to believe that working hard is pointless and tend to have lower academic performance levels.
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Students with an internal locus of control believe their rewards in life are guided by their own decisions and efforts
Locus of control is a psychological concept that refers to how strongly people believe they have control over the situations and experiences that affect their lives. It was derived from Julian B. Rotter's (1954) social learning theory of personality. In 1966, Rotter published a scale designed to measure and assess external and internal loci of control. The scale uses a forced choice between two alternatives, requiring respondents to choose one of two possibilities for each item.
Students with an internal locus of control believe that their rewards in life are guided by their own decisions and efforts. They believe that their success or failure is a result of the effort and hard work they invest in their education. For example, if a student with an internal locus of control doesn't receive a good grade on an exam, they will conclude that they did not study enough and that their efforts caused the grade. They will then try harder next time. These students are more likely to work hard to learn, progress, and succeed. They also tend to perform better academically.
Students with an external locus of control, on the other hand, believe that their successes or failures result from external factors beyond their control, such as luck, fate, circumstance, injustice, or bias. They may believe that working hard is pointless because their outcomes are determined by chance. These students may show no motivation for improvement and tend to have lower academic performance levels.
Educators can use strategies such as attribution training to encourage students to believe they have more control over their education and academic achievement. This involves teaching students to internalize positive messages, such as "I can do this" or "This can be done with hard work."
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Frequently asked questions
Locus of control is the extent to which you feel you have control over events that impact your life.
An internal locus of control refers to the belief that your life is guided by your own decisions and efforts. People with an internal locus of control believe that their actions have an impact and tend to take responsibility for their outcomes.
Students with an internal locus of control tend to have higher academic achievement. They believe that hard work and focus will lead to better grades, so they are motivated to study longer and spend more time on their assignments.
Attribution training can help strengthen a student's internal locus of control. This involves encouraging students to associate their academic success or failure with their own efforts and guiding them to see the impact of their actions.
While an internal locus of control is generally associated with positive outcomes, it is important to recognize the limits of one's control. Individuals with a strong internal locus may take on excessive blame and responsibility, believing they can control things that are ultimately beyond their control.











































