Analysing your IQ
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The degree to which people believe they have control over outcomes in their lives versus outcomes being determined by external forces like luck, fate, or powerful others.
Locus of control describes whether you believe outcomes result from your actions (internal) or external factors like luck or powerful others (external).
Developed by Julian Rotter in 1954. Internal locus of control means believing you influence outcomes; external means believing outcomes are beyond your control. It affects motivation, stress response, and health behaviors.
Assessed through questionnaires asking whether outcomes result from personal actions (internal) or external factors (external). Domain-specific measures exist for health, work, and relationships.
Nisbett, R. E. (2015). Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Sternberg, R. J. (2020). The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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Locus of control describes whether you believe outcomes result from your actions (internal) or external factors like luck or powerful others (external).
Generally yes—internal locus predicts greater achievement and well-being. However, excessive internal locus can lead to self-blame for things beyond your control.
Yes, through experiences of agency and success, cognitive therapy, and reframing. It shifts gradually as you experience the results of your choices.
Repeated experiences where actions don't lead to expected outcomes, trauma, learned helplessness, and environments that minimize personal agency.
Internal locus predicts better health behaviors (exercise, diet) and outcomes. People who feel in control are more likely to take preventive action.
