Previous studies have found that an individual's perception of control in a situation (Locus of Control; LOC) can serve as a protective factor that has physiological and psychological benefits. The present study examines LOC in an acute stress paradigm to examine the relationship between LOC and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning as…

The technology adoption domain is rich with studies that utilized a cross-sectional snapshot of subjects' perceptions regarding the adoption of new technology. This research tried to implement a longitudinal study that took three measures within 4 months to estimate the influence of time and experience on students' perceptions. The study adopted a…

Locus of control subjects estimated their outcomes for two term exams and final grades. Internals' estimates and actual outcomes were higher than those of externals . Internals' estimates from the first to second exam were characterized by more typical expectancy shifts demonstrating greater responsiveness to initial performance feedback.…

Assessed the motivational effects of criterion-setting in self-reinforcement and compared the effects of external criteria with self-imposed criteria and self-presented rewards in undergraduates (N=180). Results indicated that criterion-setting and rewards are both important components of self-reinforcement procedures; and self-imposed criteria…

Reports on a comparison of 15 community-based subjects with spinal cord injury with 12 age- and sex-matched cohorts. Includes information on demographic characteristics, pattern of engagement in daily occupations, level of performance satisfaction, overall life satisfaction, and locus of control. (Author/CH)

Thirty-seven counselor education graduate students were asked to assign validity ratings to seven possible explanations of what determines behavior. The students assigned high validity ratings to an "interaction" explanation for behavior. Further, they attributed their own behavior to external causes and the behavior of others to internal causes.…

Presents the results of a study of the role of self-determined performance standards (stringent versus lenient) and locus of control beliefs (self versus external) on children's self-regulation of academic behavior. The experimental method of the study is described and a 16-item reference list is included. (Author/JL)

Results indicated that expectations concerning success were determined by past achievement and by evaluative feedback. Immediate past performance had a stronger relative influence on expectations and performance than evaluative feedback. Feedback had a relatively greater effect on self-evaluation. (Author/DB)

Thirty-one male and 49 female undergraduate students were randomly assigned to 1 of 8 experimental conditions to investigate whether importance could moderate mood effects on student performance attributions. Outcome importance significantly increased mood biases in perceptions of causal locus but not stability. Other moderating effects are…

Much theoretical interest has been focused on the role that causal attributions play in the development of mood disorders. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of outcomes and performance attributions upon mood. In the first experiment subjects performed different tasks which naturally gave rise to internal or external…

Research on the effects of self-determined performance standards and locus of control beliefs on children's self-regulation of academic behavior suggested that: (1) the effects of self-regulation are task specific; and that (2) effective academic performance is a function of both motivation and skill. (Author/MJL)

Subjects were presented with tasks varying in the extent to which success was diagnostic of high ability and failure was diagnostic of low ability. Results supported the self-assessment theory--high achievement-motivated subjects were more interested in obtaining diagnostic information than in succeeding at difficult tasks. (Author/GDC)

The major purposes of this study are: (1) to investigate and compare the effectiveness of two instructional strategies, modeling and coaching on helping students to articulate and support their decisions in a case-based learning environment; (2) to compare the effectiveness of modeling and coaching on helping students address essential criteria in…

Intrinsic motivation and self-reinforcement can be used identically to explain behavioral persistence in the absence of external reward. Yet the relationship between these concepts has not been adequately explored. Since intrinsic motivation appears to be dependent on an interesting task and self-reinforcement independent of task, it was…

Examines age differences in control beliefs for several domains, including intellectual aging and memory, for 200 adults aged 20-89 years. In domains of health and intellectual aging, older adults have lower internal control and higher external control beliefs than young and middle-age adults. A memory training program is described. (SLD)