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Locus of Control

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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

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Synonyms

Attributional style; Hardiness; Self-efficacy

Definition

Locus of control refers to one’s general predisposition to perceive control, or lack thereof, across various situations. The extent to which one attributes valued outcomes or reinforcement to either internal or external circumstances reflects their dimension of locus of control. Individuals with an internal locus of control believe in the power of their own decisions and behaviors to impact life events and determine their own future. Those with an external locus of control, on the other hand, view life events as dictated by environmental factors outside of one’s control, such as luck, fate, or powerful others.

As originally defined by Rotter (1966), locus of control is a broad concept that is present across dimensions of functioning. The field of behavioral medicine has specifically applied it to the control individuals feel in regard to their physical health, termed health locus of control. The Health Locus of Control...

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References and Readings

  • Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80(1), 1–28.

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  • Wallston, K. A., Wallston, B. S., & DeVellis, R. (1978). Development of the multidimensional health locus of control (MHLC) scales. Health Education & Behavior, 6(1), 160–170.

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  • Wallston, B. S., Wallston, K. A., Kaplan, G. D., & Maides, S. A. (1976). Development and validation of the health locus of control (HLC) scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44(4), 580–585.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, E11 Seashore Hall, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Julia R. Van Liew

Authors
  1. Julia R. Van Liew
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julia R. Van Liew .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

  2. Cardiovascular Safety, Quintiles, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Rick Turner

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York

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Van Liew, J.R. (2013). Locus of Control. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1228

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1228

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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