Test Yourself
(10 questions, 5 min)
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Do you control your destiny or are you controlled by it? Some people believe that they hold the power to control the outcome of their actions. Other people feel that the outcome of their actions is determined by external factors. What is your locus of control? And what forces are responsible for your successes and failures? These important attitudes affect your motivation, expectations, self-esteem, risk-taking behavior and the actual outcome of your actions.
This test assesses your locus of control orientation and your attribution style. "A locus of control orientation is a belief about whether the outcomes of our actions are contingent on what we do (internal control orientation) or on events outside our personal control (external control orientation)." (Zimbardo, 1985, p. 275) Our attribution style determines which forces we hold responsible for our successes and failures. Both locus of control and attribution styles have great influence on our motivation, expectations, self-esteem, risk-taking behavior, and even on the actual outcome of our actions.
Examine the following statements and indicate how often you feel that way, to what degree you endorse the statement or how much it applies to you.
About Locus of Control
Locus of control refers to how a person perceives the cause of life events. Someone with an internal locus of control would generally perceive herself as responsible for certain occurrences (his actions would have a direct bearing on the result), while a person with an external locus of control would most often blame (or thank) fate, destiny, luck, society or some other force beyond her control.
My results of the Locus of Control Test
On a scale of 0 (external) - 100 (internal), my score was 58.
What does my score mean?
Your locus of control appears to be in the mid-range between internal and external orientation. In general, you probably feel that while you can very well control and influence many aspects of your life, there are things that just happen to you and that are outside of your personal control. People with more external LC tend to believe that their actions are results of environmental, external forces. As a consequence, an external LC might lead to a rather fatalistic and passive attitude toward life. Perceived lack of control over one's life might lower motivation, initiative and willingness to take risks. Under such circumstances, chance of success can be diminished. People with internal LC, on the other hand, interpret outcomes as results of one's own actions. They tend to take responsibility as well as credit for the results of their actions.
You seem to be balancing between the two. It is important to understand and accept one's own limits. It is equally important not to give up without doing one's best. Even though equilibrium is good in general, try to shift your locus of control further toward the internal side.
