Stage theories are prominent and controversial in science. One possible reason for their appeal is that they provide order and predictability. Participants in Experiment 1 rated stage theories as more orderly and predictable (but less credible) than continuum theories. In Experiments 2-5, we showed that order threats increase the appeal of stage…

Past research in both the transitions to adulthood literature and cultural sociology more broadly suggests that the working class relies on traditional cultural models in their construction of identity. In the contemporary post-industrial world, however, traditional life pathways are now much less available to working-class men and women. I draw…

Questionnaires assessing perceived competence, perceived control, competitive trait anxiety, and motivational orientation were completed by 108 boys. Additionally, 12 coaches were observed for 2 games in order to record coaching behaviors during competition. The model tested showed that both coaching behaviors and children's trait anxiety causally…

A comparison of identity status, locus of control, and ego stage development was completed using 294 college students. Identity achievement students were found to be more advanced in their ego stage development and level of internality, while diffusion students were less advanced. No evidence was found for intraindividual development. (Author/RD)

Ascertained whether high levels of stress at different periods of development were related to an external locus of control. Externals and internals completed the Life Events Scale. Data indicated that stress, for females in preschool and pubescent years and males in elementary and pubescent years, is related to externality. (Author/BEF)

Many studies have hypothesized a developmental relationship between children's chronological and mental ages and their intrapersonal perceptions of internal and external control. To investigate longitudinal changes in children's locus of control, 97 elementary school children, between the ages of 8 and 13, were administered the Children's…

Administered Children's Depression Index to 304 elementary and secondary school students. Found that 21 percent of students reported mild to moderate levels and seven percent reported severe levels of depression. Females reported more overall depression than did males. Results suggest that females tend to internalize difficulties while males…

Veterans Administration domiciliary residents in three age groups over age 50 completed measures of life satisfaction, locus of control and self-concept. Older veterans had resolved ego integrity v despair crisis more adequately than younger veterans. An institutional environment that facilitates self-esteem and satisfaction of elderly residents…

Eighty-six mother-infant pairs were studied to determine the extent to which maternal and child variables predicted maternal involvement. The infants, ranging in age from 3-36 months, were examined on temperament and developmental status. Maternal characteristics studied were temperament, locus of control, and socioeconomic status. Criterion…

Children's responses to requests for clarification varying in explicitness are examined. Some possible relations between personality dimensions, developmental level, academic status, and understanding of the rules of conversational turn-taking are explored. Findings suggest that these variables must be considered in order to understand individual…

Male and female adults revise their perceptions of control three times in their lives, between the ages of 20 and 65. To investigate the relationship between experienced control in terms of loci of control (internal, external), situations (opposite sex, same sex), and direction (from or over the environment), and the developmental stages of men…

Children in grades 1, 3, and 6 were asked to make judgments of their personal identity after three hypothetical transformations: self-other, personal continuity-past, and personal continuity-future. Repsonses were rated on an internal/external dimension. (Author/SS)

The major purpose of the present study was to examine empirically the independent and interactive effects of the situational event of retirement and cumulative influences attributed to the impact of satisfaction with noted life events upon locus of control (LOC). Ss included males over 55 years who had participated in a national survey. Variables…

This study validates the developmental nature of internal-external locus of control in middle and old age. Longitudinal stability of locus of control in the face of particular changes in social milieu common during the transition from middle to late life was contrasted with that of verbal intelligence, a known stable characteristic, and that of…

Sixty doctoral students aged 37-48 completed the Sentence Completion Test and a personal orientation inventory. Results indicated that they experienced significant personal growth and greater intrinsic locus of control at schools with nonauthoritarian environments emphasizing support, trust, respect, and self-directed learning. Exposure to a level…