Examines the differential effectiveness of using external reinforcement versus self reinforcement to increase the task persistence of children characterized by internal or external locus of control. Subjects were 153 fourth and fifth grade boys. (BD)

Interviews were carried out with 328 residents of London, Ontario, to test the hypothesis that locus of control and sensation seeking are related to the tendency to adjust to natural and nonnatural hazards. Possible explanations for the findings are offered, and directions for future research are suggested. (Editor/BT)

Correlations between extraversion and ability typically change from positive to negative at about 13-14 years. A method for analyzing this change is developed and applied to Rushton's (1969) data from his longitudinal study of 266 children of above-average intelligence, whom he tested at 10-11 years and again at 15-16 years of age. (Editor)

Depression, sociopathy, and Levenson's tridimensional locus of control orientation were studied in four groups of veteran male alcoholics, who varied as to degree of benefit from therapeutic programs, and a group of controls. Higher depression scores were found in those groups that appeared to benefit less from treatment. (Author)

Cardiac surgery patients were assigned to information-only, information-plus-coping, or control preoperative preparation groups. Preoperatively, both experimental groups were significantly less anxious than were controls. Both experimental groups increased patients' belief in control over recovery. Postoperatively, experimental patients were less…

When temperament, self-concept, and locus of control were compared among learning-disabled (N=38) third- through sixth- graders and matched peers, a multivariate difference was demonstrated with specific univariate effects in task orientation and social flexibility, partially supporting the characterization of learning-disabled students as…

Investigated beliefs about intellectual control and aging in 86 middle-aged and older adults. Perceptions of internal control over intellectual functioning appeared to be relatively stable during middle adulthood and to decline for older adults. Even with effects of education partialled, there was a decline in perceptions of intellectual…

Using Durkheim's distinction between mechanical and organic social systems, examines the antecedents of conflict in 111 public schools. Division of labor is indirectly but ultimately related to disputes through direct correlations with goal disagreement and enhanced control. Disputes increase when rules dominate the control structure. (Author/BJV)

Classified 96 undergraduates by locus of control and assigned them to either situational control, perceived control, or no control conditions. Measures of stress reactions during and after exposure to noxious noise revealed no significant interactions between dispositional and situational or perceived control, not supporting congruency hypothesis.…

The relationship was examined between six scales of the Locus of Control for Three Achievement Domains (LOCITAD), the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, and the Rotter Internal-External Scale. Subjects were 140 adolescent boys and girls. Significant correlations provided some support for LOCITAD's validity. (Author/GDC)

Self-concept and attributions made about academic successes and failures were compared in 46 students with learning disabilities and 47 normally achieving students (mean age 12 years). Attributions regarding internal versus external causes for successes and failures and stable (ability) versus unstable (effort) causes for failures did not…

Examined age differences in life satisfaction, self-concept, and locus of control in males and females between the ages of 14 and 94 years. Age main effect was significant for locus of control, age and sex main effects were significant for self-concept, and age and sex main effects and their interaction were significant for life satisfaction.…

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)

Reports on two treatment studies of special education students markedly helpless with regard to arithmetic: one comparing attribution retraining treatment to control treatment matched to it in schedule of successes and failures; the other comparing effects of three success-failure schedules on attributions and persistence. (Author/NRB)

Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade learning disabled, gifted, and normal students (N=213) were compared for their conceptualizations, attributions, and attitudes about school grading practices. Significant differences were found in ability to define grading systems and tendencies to perceive the causes for getting good grades as internal and…