Self-destructiveness can be viewed in two ways: as performing an act which one knows cognitively is not conducive to one's welfare but nonetheless leads to some pleasurable affect (e.g., overeating, smoking); or not performing an act one knows one should perform but which has some negative affective consequences (e.g., dental checkups, saving…

Both external locus of control (i.e., a generalized expectancy that reinforcement is controlled by luck or fate instead of oneself) and internal locus of attribution (i.e., beliefs that success or failure result from an individual's actions rather than external causes) have been related to depression. To examine the relationship of attributions…

The study with 51 boys (ages 7 to 9 years) found that subjects classified as having both attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity and learning disabilities demonstrated the most external locus of control with subjects classified as only learning-disabled intermediate and subjects classified as only having attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity…

Although much is being written about the sociological aspects of the battering syndrome, little has been done to investigate the personality characteristics of battered women. To investigate the personality characteristics which relate to the life styles of battered women, 60 women (30 battered women, 30 non-battered women), ranging in age from 19…

According to the major attributional hypotheses, egotism and expectancy confirmation, people tend to make internal attributions when successful and external attributions when they fail. In order to investigate the effect of manipulation on egotistical and expectancy confirmation attributions, 190 female undergraduates participated in two series of…

Spouse abuse research has indicated that marital violence occurs in all age groups, among all races, and in all levels of education and social class. To provide further information by comparing battered and exbattered women, 18 battered and 14 exbattered women completed a questionnaire about themselves and their assailants. Information was…

There is little literature comparing personality differences between traditional (under age 25) and reentry women students (aged 25 and older). The purpose of the present study is to examine these differences. A background questionnaire and five additional scales: (1) the Work and Family Orientation Questionnaire (WOFO-3); (2) the…

Control over self, lifestyle, and environment is a major factor in how one ages. To investigate how age acts as an environmental force in affecting perceptions of control, 45 adults, aged 60-80, from western Kansas were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), the Tiffany Experienced Control Scales (ECS), the Minnesota…

Because the factors which influence parent functioning have not been extensively researched, a study was conducted to determine the relationships among marital adjustment, child temperament, locus of control, and parent satisfaction. Participants included 93 volunteer couples who had at least one child at home. Parents averaged 35 years old and…

Although the effect of teacher expectations on student performance has been well documented, little research has focused on the effect of teacher personality styles on student-teacher interactions. To investigate the effect of teachers' locus of control and their expectations of their own effectiveness on student success, 77 female college…

The construct of locus of control formulated by Rotter (1966) is being increasingly emphasized in personality functioning, since it appears to be related to several classes of behavior. It is also being considered as an important construct in cross-cultural research. Cross-cultural comparisons are particularly important, not just because they may…

This experiment examined the relationship between computer programming and the following factors: mathematical ability, locus of control, introversion/extraversion, anxiety, and task time allocation. The programming performance of 14 male and 18 female students in a college-level introductory computer science course was measured by means of a math…

Registered nurses, interns, and residents from five hospitals in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey were administered the Maslach Human Services Survey, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, Rotter's Locus of Control Scale, Newman's Alpha Omega Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. Results strongly suggested that an individual with high self-esteem and…

People tend to have both public and private selves, creating different images in their own minds, and in the minds of others. High self-monitoring individuals (SMIs), as identified through the Self Monitoring Scale, observe their public images and adapt them to produce desired effects. They tend to see themselves as pragmatic, flexible, and…

Three studies that measured the extent to which college students differed in the amount of control they experienced in situations relating to nuclear war and in ordinary life situations such as school, community, and home are described. In the first study, 91 college-level psychology students viewed the television film "The Day After,"…