Brief Description

The Spheres of Control Scale assesses three distinct domains of perceived control: personal control or personal efficacy, interpersonal control, and socio-political control. It includes 30 statement-items, with each control sphere corresponding to 10 items. Responses are given on a seven-point Likert scale. The purpose is to measure the extent to which individuals believe they have personal, social, or political control over events in their lives. Higher scores indicate a stronger internal locus of control, while lower scores suggest a greater tendency toward external control or a sense of helplessness.

Purpose

The aim of the scale is to assess the level of internal or external locus of control in an individual’s behavior. It is based on the theory of perceived control and contributes to understanding how individuals perceive their ability to influence life events.

Scoring Method

Scoring is based on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 to 7, for each of the 30 statements. Items 1 to 10 assess personal control, items 11 to 20 assess interpersonal control, and items 21 to 30 assess socio-political control. The mean score for each subscale provides the corresponding control domain score.

Validity

The translated version of the scale, based on a Greek student sample, demonstrated good construct validity. Statistical analysis confirmed that the scale adequately measures the three distinct domains of perceived control, aligning with its theoretical foundation.

Reliability

The internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) was 0.60 for the personal control subscale, 0.65 for interpersonal control, and 0.71 for socio-political control. These values are considered marginally acceptable and indicate the need for further reliability strengthening in Greek samples.

Data Analysis and Usage

Scale data can be analyzed using mean and standard deviation calculations for each subscale. It is used in research exploring the relationship of perceived control with mental health, occupational effectiveness, academic performance, and social behavior. The scale is suitable for adults, particularly in academic and counseling contexts.

Key References

Malikiosi-Loizou, M., & Anderson, L. R. (1992). Spheres of Control Scale: Reliability evidence for its adaptation in Greek. Psychological Issues, 5, 203–210.
Paulhus, D. L. (1983). Sphere-specific measures of perceived control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 1253–1265.