Correlates of Adult Locus of Control

Powell, Arnold; Vega, Manuel de

doi:10.2466/pr0.1972.30.2.455

Cited by 24 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Working backward along the proposed causal paths, the major direct contributors to expressed attitudes are postulated to include SciLOC orientation, a general sense of personal efficacy, and previous academic success, specifically in science and mathematics as well as in academic endeavors generally. Previous studies have shown LC orientation to be correlated with aspirations (Bar-Tal, Kfir, Bar-Zohar, & Chen, 1980) and anxiety (Powell & Vega, 1972), and it seems likely that realized academic success in science also directly fosters positive attitudes toward teaching science due to the aforementioned Aristotelian Principle. Potential antecedents to SciLOC orientation also include a general sense of personal efficacy and previous academic success in science, as well as mathematical competence and the breadth of life experiences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

The contribution of science locus of control orientation to expressions of attitude toward science teaching

Haury

1989

J Res Sci Teach

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Science locus of control (SciLOC) orientation is examined as a predictor of attitudes toward science teaching among 104 preservice elementary school teachers. SciLOC orientation refers to beliefs people hold regarding their personal efficacy, or ability to influence the outcome of events, in situations where decisions or actions require either the application of scientific knowledge or the use of reasoning skills associated with scientific thinking. A causal model that links such beliefs to attitudes toward science teaching was formulated and tested in this study. Multiple regression analysis demonstrates that 46% of the variance in attitudes toward science teaching expressed by subjects in the sample studied can be explained by SciLOC orientation. Path analysis of the proposed causal model accounts for 57% of the variance in expressed attitudes and 11% of the variance in SciLOC orientation. These results are interpreted as evidence that SciLOC orientation is a major contributor to attitudes expressed toward science teaching among preservice elementary teachers, with the major contributors to SciLOC orientation remaining to be identified. A troublesome relationship between expressed attitudes and academic performance in college science is also noted. 0 1989 by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

The contribution of science locus of control orientation to expressions of attitude toward science teaching

Haury

1989

J Res Sci Teach

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“…In a recent study ( 3 ) internal control as measured by the Adult Locus of Control Scale was negatively correlated with scores on the Pharisaic Virtue ( 1 ) scale. The latter, an MMPI research scale, was designed to measure self-righteous or hypocritical attitudes toward ochers and to correlate with scores on the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory, a measure of democratic versus authoritarian approaches to others.…”

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confidence: 89%

Adult Locus of Control and Self-Righteous Attitudes

Powell

Gable

1973

Psychol Rep

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In a recent study ( 3 ) internal control as measured by the Adult Locus of Control Scale was negatively correlated with scores on the Pharisaic Virtue ( 1 ) scale. The latter, an MMPI research scale, was designed to measure self-righteous or hypocritical attitudes toward ochers and to correlate with scores on the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory, a measure of democratic versus authoritarian approaches to others. The correlation between adult control and Pharisaic Virtue scores corroborates other evidence that control is related to teaching potentiality ( 3 ) and suggests that control may be important in interpersonal relations. The present study was designed to test the reliability of the correlation between control and Pharisaic Virtue using a college sample (Powell and Vega tested teachers and teacher-aides) and to examine the relationships between individual items on Pharisaic Virtue and control scales.Ss were 55 students enrolled in introductory psychology, statistics, and survey history classes. The two scales were administered anonymously during a single class period; some Ss answered the one scale first while others answered the other first. O n both scales higher scores indicated greater internal control and more self-righteous attitudes.The scores were comparable to those obtained in the previous study ( 3 ) ; mean control score was 19.60 (SD = 2.20) and mean self-righteous score 17.93 (SD = 5.5). ThePearsonian r between these was -.356 ( d f = 53, P < .01) which was lower than -6 0 4 reported before ( 3 ) . However, the difference between these rs was not significant ( t = 1.53, df = 93, P > . l o ) . Comparisons of scores on individual Pharisaic Virtue items and control total showed 15 of the point-biserial rs L -.20, but only 7 were significant ( P = .05, r --L -.27, df = 53). The point-biserial rs between MMPI Items 94, 336, 356, 357, 375, 404, and 439 and control scores were, respectively, -.29, -.28, -.35, -.33, -31, -.32, and -.28.The specific content of these items seemed to be related to control over one's own feelings (e.g., Item 356) and impatience with others (Item 439).The results substantiate the findings ( 3 ) that feelings of internal control are associated with less self-righteous or hypocritical attitudes toward others. It may be that such attitudes represent a defensive reaction against the feelings of exrernal control and their consequences. The association between control and interpersonal relations should be studied to determine the possible origins of control and its specific influence on interpersonal behavior; this has already been suggested by Joe ( 2 ) . Although ir is difficult to make inferences from the specific content of MMPI items, since face validiry is considered to be of little or no importance, it is possible that the relationship between scores on the present scales resulrs largely from the "control content" of particular Pharisaic Virtue items. REFERENCES

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“…Por otra parte, la relacion que postulan Battle y Rotter (1963) entre las puntuaciones de su escala y el nivel socioeconomico se ha visto confirmada sobre esta y otras escalas (Battle y Rotter, 1963;Crandall y col., 1965;Franklin, 1963;Gorsuch y col., 1972;Gruen y col., 1974;Nowicki y Strickland, 1973;Powell y Vega, 1972;Strickland, 1971;Wolf y col., 1979Wolf y col., , 1982. Y respecto ala otra asociacion que esperan se obtenga entre las puntuaciones de su escala y ellogro academico, esta se ha encontrado en algunos de los cursos evaluados y solo para los varones (Reimanis, 1973).…”

Section: Estructura Factorialunclassified