Rotter's internal-external locus of control of reinforcement construct¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article organizes its predictions around Rotter's (1966) "control of reinforcement" construct, described as "a dimension of belief or expectancy about the locus of reinforcing consequences for behavior." It represents "a generalized or transsituational disposition to ascribe behavior-reinforcement contingencies to either 'external', and hence uncontrollable, factors" such as chance, fate, or powerful others, or to "internal" sources where the individual perceives himself as the effective determinant of reinforcing events. The I-E Scale (Rotter, 1966) is named as the most widely used criterion measure for assessing this expectancy.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Assessment requires a criterion measure of expectancy for internal-external control, for which the article names the I-E Scale (Rotter, 1966).

Constraints¶

• The article emphasizes the dimension as a determinant of responsiveness to social influence only in certain situations, specifically subtle influence attempts.

Target Learners¶

• undergraduate psychology students

Target Learning Objectives¶

• responsiveness to social reinforcement and influence in verbal behavior

Claims¶

• External Control Subjects Greater Verbal Conditioning Gains [+M]

Related Theories¶

• Interpersonal styles equated with generalized expectancies in social learning theory
• Social learning theory expectancy framework (generalized and specific expectancies)
• Weiner's dimensional organization of attributions: locus of control, stability, and later controllability

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Doctor, R. M., & Marziani, A. W. (1971). Locus of Control of Reinforcement and Responsiveness to Social Influence. San Fernando Valley State College. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED055283