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| Considering Locus of Control 2024 |
Assessment
name: Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale
Scale
overview: Rotter’s
Locus of Control Scale is a 29-item measure of beliefs about external or
internal sources of influence on one’s life.
The scale
is also referred to as LCS.
Author: Julian Rotter
Response
Type: Forced choice
between two items.
Scale
items: See the items
at the bottom of this post.
Psychometric
properties:
A review of
internal consistency values from several studies revealed a mean of .663 and
test-retest mean of .663 (Huizing, 2015).
Klockars,
A. J., & Varnum, S. W. (1975) found six factors suggesting the scale
measures multiple dimensions.
Lange and
Tiggermann (2010) reported test-retest reliability of .61 in their sample.
Comment:
Some
researchers have questioned the structure of the original scale in terms of its
ability to clearly measure either internal or external locus of control.
Additional measures have been developed including a measure specifically for religious
people (Gabbard et al., 1986). The difficulties suggest caution when using the
original scale; however, it is useful to consider Rotter’s ideas reflected in
the scale when evaluating newer scales, evaluating research based on the
original scale, and citing the history of development of various measures of
the locus of control concept.
Read
more about the concept Locus
of Control.
Availability:
A web
source pdf (also see items below): https://positivepsychology.com/locus-of-control-test/#questionnaires
References
for the scale
Gabbard, Clinton
E., Howard, George S., & Tageson, C. William. (1986). Assessing locus of
control with religious populations. Journal of Research in Personality, Vol
20(3), 292-308. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(86)90136-4,
Huizing (2015). Who’s controlling locus of
control? cross-cultural LOC usage. International Journal of Leadership
Studies, 9, 76-88.
Klockars, A. J., & Varnum, S. W. (1975). A
test of the dimensionality assumptions of Rotter's Internal-External scale.
Journal of personality assessment, 39(4), 397–404.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa3904_13
Lange, R. V.,
& Tiggemann, M. (1981). Dimensionality and Reliability of the Rotter I-E
Locus of Control Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 45(4),
398–406. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4504_9
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies
for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological
Monographs, 80, 1–28.
Reference
for using scales in research:
Buy Creating Surveys on
Reference
for clinicians on understanding assessment
Buy Applied Statistics for Counselors
Resource Link: A – Z Test Index
NOTICE:
The
information about scales and measures is provided for clinicians and
researchers based on professional publications. The links to authors,
materials, and references can change. You may be able to locate details by
contacting the main author of the original article or another author on the
article list.
Post Author
Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD is
Emeritus Professor of Psychology who publishes book and articles about clinical
and social psychology including the psychology of religion. Website: www.suttong.com
Books available on AMAZON and the GOOGLE STORE
Connections
FACEBOOK Geoff
W. Sutton
TWITTER @Geoff.W.Sutton
PINTEREST www.pinterest.com/GeoffWSutton
Read many published articles
and book samples on:
Academia Geoff
W Sutton
ResearchGate Geoffrey W Sutton
Rotter's
Locus of Control Scale
For each
question select the statement that you agree with the most
1. a. Children get into trouble because their
patents punish them too much.
b. The trouble with most children nowadays
is that their parents are too easy with them.
2. a. Many
of the unhappy things in people's lives are partly due to bad luck.
b. People's misfortunes result from the
mistakes they make.
3. a. One
of the major reasons why we have wars is because people don't take enough
interest in politics.
b. There will always be wars, no matter how
hard people try to prevent them.
4. a. In
the long run people get the respect they deserve in this world
b. Unfortunately, an individual's worth
often passes unrecognized no matter how hard he tries
5. a. The
idea that teachers are unfair to students is nonsense.
b. Most students don't realize the extent
to which their grades are influenced by accidental happenings.
6. a.
Without the right breaks one cannot be an effective leader.
b. Capable people who fail to become
leaders hive not taken advantage of their opportunities.
7. a. No
matter how hard you try some people just don't like you.
b. People who can't get others to like them
don't understand how to get along with others.
8. a.
Heredity plays the major role in determining one's personality
b. It is one's experiences in life which
determine what they're like.
9. a. I
have often found that what is going to happen will happen.
b. Trusting to fate has never turned out as
well for me as making a decision to take a definite course of action.
a. In the
case of the well prepared student there is rarely if ever such a thing as an
unfair test.
Many times
exam questions tend to be so unrelated to course work that studying in really
useless.
a. Becoming
a success is a matter of hard work, luck has little or nothing to do with
it.
Getting a
good job depends mainly on being in the right place at the right time.
a. The
average citizen can have an influence in government decisions.
This world
is run by the few people in power, and there is not much the little guy can do
about it.
a. When I
make plans, I am almost certain that I can make them work.
It is not
always wise to plan too far ahead because many things turn out to- be a matter
of good or bad fortune anyhow.
a. There
are certain people who are just no good.
There is
some good in everybody.
a. In my
case getting what I want has little or nothing to do with luck.
Many times
we might just as well decide what to do by flipping a coin.
a. Who gets
to be the boss often depends on who was lucky enough to be in the right place
first.
Getting
people to do the right thing depends upon ability. Luck has little or nothing
to do with it.
a. As far
as world affairs are concerned, most of us are the victims of forces we can
neither understand, nor control.
By taking
an active part in political and social affairs the people can control world
events.
a. Most
people don't realize the extent to which their lives are controlled by
accidental happenings.
There
really is no such thing as "luck."
a. One
should always be willing to admit mistakes.
It is
usually best to cover up one's mistakes.
a. It is
hard to know whether or not a person really likes you.
How many
friends you have depends upon how nice a person you are.
a. In the
long run the bad things that happen to us are balanced by the good ones.
Most
misfortunes are the result of lack of ability, ignorance, laziness, or all
three.
a. With
enough effort we can wipe out political corruption.
It is
difficult for people to have much control over the things politicians do in
office.
a.
Sometimes I can't understand how teachers arrive at the grades they give.
There is a
direct connection between how hard 1 study and the grades I get.
a. A good
leader expects people to decide for themselves what they should do.
A good
leader makes it clear to everybody what their jobs are.
a. Many
times I feel that I have little influence over the things that happen to
me.
It is
impossible for me to believe that chance or luck plays an important role in my
life.
a. People
are lonely because they don't try to be friendly.
There's not
much use in trying too hard to please people, if they like you, they like
you.
a. There is
too much emphasis on athletics in high school.
Team sports
are an excellent way to build character.
a. What
happens to me is my own doing.
Sometimes I
feel that I don't have enough control over the direction my life is
taking.
a. Most of
the time I can't understand why politicians behave the way they do.
In the long
run the people are responsible for bad government on a national as well as on a
local level.
Score one
point for each of the following:
2. a, 3.b,
4.b, 5.b, 6.a, 7.a, 9.a, 10.b, 11.b, 12.b, 13.b, 15.b, 16.a, 17.a, 18.a,
20.a,
21. a,
22.b, 23.a, 25.a, 26.b, 28.b, 29.a.
A high
score = External Locus of Control
A low score
= Internal Locus of Control
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