Purpose

The scale was designed to measure the concept of internal versus external locus of reinforcement.

Brief Description

This is a classic and widely used scale designed to identify an individual’s locus of control in adulthood. The scale classifies individuals based on the extent to which they perceive personal responsibility for what happens to them. Specifically, it investigates whether individuals attribute the sources of reinforcement to themselves or to external agents. An internal locus of control is attributed to individuals who believe that both positive and negative events result from their own actions and lie under their personal responsibility. In contrast, individuals with an external locus of control believe that such events are related to behavior but lie beyond personal control. The Locus of Control Scale consists of 29 forced-choice paired items. In each question, two roughly opposing statements are presented, and the respondent must choose the one with which they agree more.

Sample

In Greece, the scale was administered to 26 women and 26 men. Among them, 27% belonged to a low socioeconomic level, 38% to a medium level, and 35% to a high level.

Scoring Method

Scoring is based on Rotter’s original system. Of the 29 questions, 23 contribute to the scoring, while the remaining 6 are designed to obscure the distinction between options and are not counted. The number of responses indicating external locus of control is tallied. Individuals who give more than 8 such responses are categorized as having an external locus of control, while those who give 6 to 7 such responses are categorized as having a neutral locus of control.

Validity

The scale demonstrates satisfactory discriminant and construct validity. In terms of factorial structure, factor analyses show the presence of a general factor. Orthogonal rotations using the Varimax method reveal four distinct factors that describe the external locus of control: (a) a difficult world, (b) an unjust world, (c) a world governed by luck, and (d) political apathy.

Reliability

The scale shows good internal consistency reliability, with coefficients ranging from 0.69 to 0.79. It also demonstrates good test-retest reliability (coefficients ranging from 0.49 to 0.83) and age-related reliability (coefficient 0.65).

Key References

Loumakou, M. (1989). Attitudes of parents of juvenile delinquents and their contribution to therapeutic outcomes. Doctoral dissertation, University of Athens.
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcements. Psychological Monographs, 80 (1, whole no. 609).