What is locus of control?

Have you ever heard of locus of control and its influence on personality?

The locus of control is a widely used topic in psychology, and it affects an individual's point of view and the way he or she interacts with the environment. Rotter, in 1966, proposed the "locus of control" as a personality trait in his Social Learning Theory.

"If the person perceives the event to be contingent on his behavior or his own relatively permanent characteristics, it has been said to be a belief in internal control"; conversely, "when a reinforcement is perceived as following some personal action, but not being entirely contingent on it, it is typically perceived, in our culture, as the result of luck, and in this sense it has been said to be a belief in external control."

—Rotter, 1966

What is locus of control?

According to Rotter's Social Learning Theory, which predates Albert Bandura's, human behavior takes place with an continuous interaction between cognitive, behavioral and environmental determinants.. Therefore, the perception of control or non-control that a person has over the events occurring around him/her are important for the course of his/her own life.

The locus of control is a relatively stable personality variable that represents the attribution that a person carries to the events around him/her. the attribution that a person makes as to whether or not the effort he makes is contingent on his behavior.. There are two ends of the continuum: internal locus of control y external locus of control.

The internal locus of control occurs in case an individual perceives that the particular reinforcing event is contingent on his or her own behavior. That is, the person perceives that what has happened externally is due to his or her behavior and has control over the external consequences. For example, a person with internal locus of control attributes his happiness to himself. If he wants to be happy, he can work on it.

External locus of control occurs when the individual perceives that an external event has occurred independently of his behavior. Therefore, the individual associates the event that has occurred with chance, luck or fate. For example, a person with external locus of control attributes his or her happiness to another person or to the situation.

Locus of control and personal development

This concept is important, because if a person thinks that what is happening around him does not depend on him, he may not act to change it, he may not act to change it.. For example, if a person thinks that he has no control over the choice of the political party that will govern his country, he may not do anything to change it, not even exercise his right to vote. On the other hand, if a person thinks that his or her vote will be important for the election of a new government, he or she may be motivated to change the political landscape and may even go out and demonstrate.

The feeling of not being able to control an event often generates a state of paralysis. state of paralysis that disables people from achieving their proposed goals.

The internal locus of control is also an important aspect for personal development, since a person with an internal locus of control believes in his or her possibilities in the face of what happens externally and knows that by making a maximum effort he or she will go far.

Learned helplessness: external locus of control

In our article "Learned helplessness: delving into the psychology of the victim", we explained the phenomenon of learned helplessness. According to César Ojeda, learned helplessness "refers to the condition in which a person or animal becomes inhibited in the face of aversive or painful situations when actions to avoid them have not been fruitful, ending up developing passivity in the face of them".

Therefore, learned helplessness could be a consequence of the individual having learned to behave in a passive way, perceiving that he/she cannot do anything about it.by perceiving that he/she can do nothing to change a negative situation despite the fact that there are real possibilities for change. The direct consequence of this attribution is the loss of coping response.

Learned helplessness is a concept widely used in clinical psychology, as it is closely associated with depressive states. There are several studies that accept this hypothesis, for example, this study from the Catholic University of Chile that shows that patients with depression and anxiety score lower on the Rotter Locus of Control Scale. That is, those prone to depression and anxiety tend towards external locus of control.

Resistant personality: internal locus of control

According to psychologist Bertrand Regader, "a resilient person is one who, despite suffering problems and even disorders that could destabilize, is able to maintain strength, resist and emerge. This type of person is not immune to the life events that we all experience, such as the death of a loved one, a breakup, a bad job situation... but they are different from others in that they are able to stoically accept these setbacks in life and find the strength to move forward.

A psychologist at the University of Chicago, Suzanne C. Kobasa, conducted several studies on the resilient personality. resilient personality. According to her findings, people with this personality type have several characteristics. They tend to be highly committed, internal locus of control and challenge-oriented people with a greater openness to change.

Internal locus of control and external locus of control in the workplace

Locus of control can also affect job performance. job performance. It is important to understand that locus of control is a continuum; no one is 100% internal or external locus of control. Below are some characteristics of internal and external locus of control.

Individuals with internal locus of control:

• Are prone to take responsibility for their actions.
• Are less susceptible to the opinions of others.
• tend to perform better when they can work at their own pace
• They have a high sense of self-efficacy or self-confidence.
• Feel confident in the face of challenges
• They tend to be healthier
• They tend to be happier and more independent
• They tend to be more successful in the workplace.

Individuals with external locus of control:

• Credit luck, fate, circumstances or others for their successes
• Do not believe they can change adverse situations
• Are more prone to suffer from learned helplessness
• Are more unhappy
• Tend to be less successful in the workplace