Purpose

The scale was designed to measure the concept of internal or external locus of reinforcement. The short form was deemed necessary in order to assess this specific concept while avoiding the large volume of questions in the original questionnaire (29 items).

Brief Description

This is the classic and widely used scale for identifying locus of control in adults, in its shortened form. It classifies individuals according to the extent to which they perceive personal responsibility for what happens to them. Specifically, it distinguishes between those with an internal locus of control and those with an external locus of control. A person with an internal locus of control believes that both positive and negative events are the result of their own actions and are under their personal control. A person with an external locus of control believes that positive or negative events are not related to their behavior or are caused by the will of someone else. This short version of the scale includes 13 pairs of forced-choice statements. One item is presented first from each pair, and the respondent must choose the statement they agree with more.

Sample

In Greece, the scale was administered to 195 women and 206 male smokers (3.5% were primary school graduates, 8.5% junior high school graduates, 36.3% high school graduates, 24.3% university students, 13% graduates of technical colleges, and 14.5% university graduates).

Scoring Method

Of the 13 total pairs of statements in this specific scale, in the pairs numbered 1, 5, 6, and 7, the first statement reflects an external locus of control, while in the remaining pairs, the first statement reflects an internal locus of control. Responses are tallied, and individuals are categorized as having an internal or external locus of control based on the majority of their choices (following a recoding of the statements that are reverse-scored).

Main Bibliographic Source

Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcements. Psychological Monographs, 80 (1, whole no. 609).