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Locus of Control | |
| Locus of control is an individual's belief system regarding
the causes of his or her experiences and the factors to which that person attributes
success of failure. It can be assessed with the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control
Scale. If a person has an internal locus of control, that person attributes success to his or her own efforts and abilities. A person who expects to succeed will be more motivated and more likely to learn. This person will seek out information and is more likely to have good study habits and a positive academic attitude. A person with an external locus of control, who attributes his or her success to luck or fate, will be less likely to make the effort needed to learn. People with external locus of control are also more likely to experience anxiety since they believe that they are not in control of their lives. One study found that students with an internal locus of control showed better adjustment to college in terms of academic achievement and social adjustment. (See Njus, D.M. & Brockway, J.H. [1999]. Perceptions of competence and locus of control for positive and negative outcomes. Personality and Individual Differences 26, 531-548.) Another study found that community college students who succeeded at distance education had high internal locus of control. (See Dille, B. & Mezack, M. [1991]. Identifying predictors of high risk among community college telecourse students. American Journal of Distance Education 5 (1), 24-35.) A third study found that locus of control had a negative correlation with course withdrawal and failure, although the amount was not significant. In other words, the more students had an external locus of control, the more likely they were to withdraw from the course. The author suggests that additional research be conducted. (See Pugliese, R.R. [1994]. Telecourse persistence and psychological variables. American Journal of Distance Education, 8 [3], 22-39. For students to develop an internal locus of control, they must be able to attribute success to their own efforts. For example, have students develop an individualized learning plan that lists their goals, how they plan to achieve those goals, a timeline, and the outcome. Students with an internal locus of control may be more likely to do well at distance learning situations that require a certain amount of independence from the learner. Students with an external locus of control will need more encouragement and guidance from the instructor. |