A preschool and primary internal-external control scale.

Attempted to construct a preschool and primary form of an internal-external control scale that would be comparable to already completed forms for older Ss. On the basis of construct validation procedures, certain requirements were established for the new measure. After pilot work, yielding a 26-item cartoon format, the scale was administered to 240 5-8 yr olds. Data reflecting achievement, interpersonal distance, and social desirability were also gathered. Results indicate that the test met internal and external validity requirements. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex-role stereotypes for internal-external control and interpersonal trust.

Undergraduates completed Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale and the Interpersonal Trust Scale and then retook the tests as if they were "supermale" and "superfemale" (i.e., extremely masculine and feminine). Sex-role stereotypes of males as more internal and less trusting were found to exist for both sexes, but Ss' own scores diverged considerably from their same-sex stereotypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct and nondirect marathon group therapy and internal-external control.

Investigated whether direct and nondirect therapist techniques within a 23-hr marathon format would differentially induce client shifts in locus of control (as measured by Rotter's Locus of Control Scale). Ss were 84 female narcotic addicts. The no-treatment control group experienced a significant shift toward externality, while the marathon Ss did not fluctuate significantly from pre- to posttherapy. No significant difference in shift was found between the direct and nondirect treatment conditions. A significant Periods * Locus of Control * Treatment Conditions interaction showed that internal Ss in the direct and control conditions shifted significantly toward externality. Future studies need to investigate whether a posttherapy shift in locus of control is associated with changes on other personality measures. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Belief in internal-external control of reinforcement and participation in college activities.

Correlated the scores of 94 male and 76 female undergraduates on the Internal-External Control Scale with records of Ss' GPA and participation in campus activities. As predicted, internal males obtained higher GPAs than external males. Although internal Ss were more involved in campus activities, this trend was not significant for females. Results support previous findings on the positive relationship between internal locus of control and general achievement-oriented behavior for males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensionality of internal-external control: Implications for past and future research.

Factor analyzed the scores of 130 20-55 yr old females in a weight-reducing club and 85 undergraduates on Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale. Results of the 2 studies offer rather clear evidence that there are at least 2 independent factors of Internal vs External (I-E) control. The 1st factor, "Fatalism," concerned the belief that luck, fate, or fortune vs hard work, ability, and personal responsibility determine one's outcomes. The 2nd factor, "Social System Control," measured the extent to which people believe they can or cannot effect change within the sociopolitical realms of their society. The possible limitations of Rotter's rather heterogeneous I-E scale are explained and an alternative research strategy involving multiple regression analyses based on homogeneous I-E subscales is proposed. This new approach would not only facilitate more accurate predictions of criteria, but would also promote further refinement of I-E theory. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of internal-external control to work motivation and performance in an expectancy model.

Conducted a study of 80 officer and 127 enlisted Naval personnel to investigate the hypotheses that internality (perception of much control) is positively related to (a) the concept of instrumentality from expectancy theory, (b) work motivation as measured by ratings and by expectancy theory measures, (c) job performance as measured by ratings, and (d) rank. These hypotheses were confirmed at or beyond the .05 significance level. A multitrait-multirater matrix showed convergent but no discriminant validity for ratings by supervisors, peers, and the Ss themselves on the Ss' job effort and performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reaction-time behaviour as a function of internal-external control of reinforcement and control of test administration.

Tested 168 undergraduates in 2 self- vs. E-controlled RT experiments. Ss with internal vs. external control of reinforcement expectancies were compared across these conditions. Internal-external proved to be irrelevant to condition effects, whereas sex of S proved important. Female Ss were quicker in self-directed conditions in both regular and irregular RT procedures, while always slower than males in general. When instructions were embellished to facilitate performance for a 3rd sample, external Ss did show some improvement. Data indicate support for previous research that has emphasized responsiveness of external Ss to E's structuring of tasks. External Ss seemed more affected by motivating directions especially in the other-directed condition, at the shortest preparatory interval. No clear-cut support, however, was found for the hypothesized interaction between internal-external and self- vs. other-controlled conditions. (French summary) (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effectiveness of directive and nondirective group therapies as a function of client internal-external control.

Tested the predictive utility of a Client * Modality interactive model for group psychotherapy outcome. 26 mildly distressed college student clients were assigned randomly to a nondirective or to 1 of 3 directive groups, all led by the same therapist. Belief in personal internal-external control (assessed with Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale) was the individual-difference predictor, and a multivariate personality battery (including the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale) provided the indexes of psychosocial adjustment. As hypothesized, more internally oriented persons were more therapeutically responsive to the nondirective than to the directive approach, whereas the reverse tended to be the case among those more externally oriented. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internal-external control and social-political activism: A test of the dimensionality of Rotter's internal-external scale.

Reexamined the issue of the usefulness of the internal-external concept in understanding commitment to social-political action and evaluated the empirical intactness of Rotter's Internal-External (I-E) Control Scale. 85 female and 81 male university students, 66 of whom belonged to campus social-political action groups, completed several personality inventories including the I-E measure and Kerpelman's Political Activity scale. 3 scores were derived from the I-E instrument, 1 based on responses to all 23 items. The other 2 scores were based, respectively, on responses to the political or world events stems and to the nonpolitical stems identified by H. Mirels as forming independent item domains. The 2 item clusters from the I-E scale were uncorrelated. Political commitment was predicted by scores on the political I-E items (p     

Dimensions of control: Correlations between MMPI and I-E scores.

Administered Rotter's Internal versus External Locus of Control (I-E) scale and the MMPI to 25 volunteer members of a suburban rescue squad. I-E scores correlated with 3 MMPI scales: negatively with the K and Hy scales and positively with the F scale. A comparison of these relationships with those found in a sample of alcoholics is made. It is suggested that the correlations observed indicate "that a sense of control over external events is related to self-control and competence in handling internal events." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of internal-external control and United States suicide rates, 1966-1973

The annual variations in scores obtained on the Rotter Internal-External (I-E) control scale by United States college students between the years 1966 and 1973 were related to the concomitant annual variations in suicide rates for the total United States population and for eight separate age groups. The I-E scores increased substantially during this time period and were correlated positively with the concomitantly increasing suicide rates among relatively young persons (in and below the 35-44 year age group). However, the suicide rates among older persons generally decreased during this time period and thus were correlated negatively with the I-E scores. These results suggest that perception of internal-external control did not change among older persons as they did among younger persons, perhaps because older persons might be less susceptible to the cultural influences that affect the perceived control of younger persons. Results of this and earlier research suggest that cultural characteristics that foster high perceptions of external control also foster suicidal behavior and suggest the value of attempts to convey perceptions of internal control to psychotherapy clients.     

Unreliability of difference scores: A paradox for measurement of change.

Argues that the use of difference scores to measure change in experimental research has often been faulted on the grounds that errors of measurement are additive. It is suggested that in research concerned with differences between experimental treatment groups, the loss in reliability due to calculation of difference scores is not a valid concern because the power of tests of significance is maximum when the reliability of the difference scores is zero. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The reliability of self-image change scores in psychotherapy research: An application of generalizability theory.

The aim of this study was to estimate the reliability of the pre- to posttreatment change scores for 3 different self-image aspects, Attack, Love, and Control. To measure self-image, we used the Norwegian version of the introject surface of Benjamin's (1974) structural analysis of social behavior. The article introduces Generalizability (G-) theory, combined with the recent concept of tolerance for error, as a framework for estimating the reliability and precision of change scores in 1- and 2-facet designs. Data were obtained from the Norwegian Multi-Site Study of Process and Outcome in Psychotherapy, including 291 outpatients. The mean number of treatment sessions was 47. The results show that change scores may be highly reliable. Generalizability coefficients resting on the relative and absolute score interpretations, respectively, for both the Love and Attack change scores reached acceptable levels. The reliability of the Control change score was, however, poor. G-theory combined with the error-tolerance concept proved to be a helpful framework for assessing the dependability of change scores in a psychotherapy research setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotion and aging: Experience, expression, and control.

Age differences in emotional experience, expression, and control were investigated in 4 studies. A community sample of 127 African Americans and European Americans (ages 19–96 years) was used in Study 1; a community sample of 82 Chinese Americans and European Americans (ages 20–85 years) was used in Study 2; a community sample of 49 Norwegians drawn from 2 age groups (ages 20–35 years and 70+ years) was used in Study 3; and a sample of 1,080 American nuns (ages 24–101 years) was used in Study 4. Across studies, a consistent pattern of age differences emerged. Compared with younger participants, older participants reported fewer negative emotional experiences and greater emotional control. Findings regarding emotional expressivity were less consistent, but when there were age differences, participants reported lesser expressivity. Results are interpreted in terms of increasingly competent emotion regulation across the life span. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensionality of internal-external locus of control: Some additional data bearing on the validity of self-control as a third dimension.

Used hierarchical factor analysis to test the D. W. Reid and E. E. Ware (see record 1974-32481-001) hypothesis that in addition to social system control (SSC) and fatalism, self-control represents a dimension of the J. B. Rotter (see record 2011-19211-001) construct of internal vs external locus of reinforcement control. The Reid and Ware 32-item forced choice internal-external questionnaire was administered to 107 undergraduates and 779 high school students. Results reveal that both high school and university Ss differentiated 3 scales (thereby replicating the Reid-Ware analysis), but for the university Ss, self-control was a dimension of a different kind from fatalism and SSC. All 3 scales were related to a more generalized control expectancy for the high school sample. A social learning interpretation is given to explain differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The rise in IQ scores.

Responds to the U. Neisser et al (see record 83-26553) review of the rise in IQ test scores, arguing that none of the offered explanations sufficiently account for the extent of increase in scores. The collective memory hypothesis is offered as a possible alternative explanation. The hypothesis' applicability in human learning is addressed, including discussion of studies showing its ability to be tested empirically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-disclosure scores and grades in nursing college.

"A self-disclosure questionnaire was administered to a group of students of nursing during their sophomore year. At the conclusion of their senior years, grade-point averages were calculated for (a) all nursing courses taken during the 4 years of study, (b) nursing courses taken in the junior and senior years, (c) all nonnursing courses taken during the 4-year program, and (d) all courses combined. Significant correlations were found between the scores for disclosure to Mother, Female Friend, and Total Disclosure, on the one hand, and all grade-point averages in which nursing courses were included. Disclosure to Father was significantly correlated with grades for all nursing courses, and grades in nursing courses taken in the junior and senior years. Disclosure to Male Friend was not significantly correlated with any of the gradepoint averages." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4KL44J. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computing and evaluating factor scores.

A variety of methods for computing factor scores can be found in the psychological literature. These methods grew out of a historic debate regarding the indeterminate nature of the common factor model. Unfortunately, most researchers are unaware of the indeterminacy issue and the problems associated with a number of the factor scoring procedures. This article reviews the history and nature of factor score indeterminacy. Novel computer programs for assessing the degree of indeterminacy in a given analysis, as well as for computing and evaluating different types of factor scores, are then presented and demonstrated using data from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Third Edition. It is argued that factor score indeterminacy should be routinely assessed and reported as part of any exploratory factor analysis and that factor scores should be thoroughly evaluated before they are reported or used in subsequent statistical analyses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing strategies in multi-dose experiments including active control

Inferential test strategies for multi-arm trials are adapted or proposed for the special situation when more than one dose of a test treatment, placebo and active control(s) are compared. This includes between doses, dose-placebo and dose-active-control comparisons. The procedures refer to situations when detailed comparisons make sense only if the sensitivity of the trial has been shown, for example, if a dose-response relationship or a difference between active control and placebo has been established. Split strategies, hierarchical (assuming an order restriction among doses) or linked procedures are introduced. In linked procedures, equivalence to the active control will be established only if the dose is also shown to be effective as compared to placebo. All the inferential procedures control the experimentwise error rate in the strong sense for the respective sets of null hypotheses considered.