Locus of Control

Locus of control is a person's interpretation of what causes and controls the events in his or her life. Julian Rotter proposed the construct of locus of control in the 1960s as locus of control of reinforcement combining elements of cognitive and behavioral psychology. This is the belief that either the person or something outside of the person is in control of his or her life. In normal development, an individual progresses from an external orientation as an infant to a more internal orientation as an adult. This developmental shift occurs as the child grows and feels increasingly competent and independent in responding and controlling the various circumstances and events of his or her life. The belief that one is in control of the controllable aspects of one's life is psychologically and developmentally healthy. Locus of control is an important aspect of personal attributions of success and failure. Attributions profoundly affect success of the gifted in school and life. The gifted can be helped in developing a positive and internal locus of control that will facilitate their success and happiness, as discussed in this entry.

Internal locus of control and external locus of control are two ends of a continuum rather than an either-or dichotomy. A person is not entirely internal or external in his or her beliefs, but falls somewhere along a continuum between these two extremes. The specific position on the continuum is somewhat context specific and amenable to interventions and change. Although locus of control is often discussed as though it were a stable personality construct, the theory and research suggest that it is a learned and changeable disposition.

Locus of control is closely linked to personal attributions of success and failure. Bernard Weiner's attribution theory has three dimensions: the person's locus of control, the stability of the causal element (e.g., personal ability, task difficulty), and whether the causal element is controllable (e.g., personal effort, luck). Gifted students may develop dysfunctional explanations of their success when school tasks are too easy. These explanations include a belief they will always learn things quickly and easily, get all questions correct, and never make mistakes. Success in challenging academic tasks is more likely to develop appropriate attributions and increased internal orientations. Internality of control increases in gifted children or adolescents when they perceive their success in a challenging activity as dependent on their effort, that their abilities are sufficient to be successful, and that the task though difficult is doable. In challenging accelerated educational programs, the gifted have to work hard and struggle more to be successful and competitive with the others in the program. An internal orientation supports the efforts this takes better than does an external one.

Gifted children with an internal locus of control are more likely to take responsibility for their actions and inactions. They are not easily swayed by the negative or overly positive opinions of others. They do better at tasks when they can work at their own paces. The gifted generally develop a healthy internal locus of control, and those gifted who are deeply challenged academically such as those experiencing grade acceleration even more likely to have an internal control orientation.

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