This study reviews literature regarding the antecedents of locus of control. The development of locus of control in children is found to be related to parent attitudes, behaviours and interactions between parents and children. Literature was further consulted to understand the relationship between parenting and locus of control development. It was decided, based on continued review of literature, that parent guidance based on a social cognitive learning approach was a valid therapeutic model to enhance internal locus of control in children. The parent guidance model proposed in this study was based on parenting guidelines to enhance internal locus of control in children. The aim is to bring about transformation of parent attitudes and behaviours through therapeutic means, which will produce change in the parent-child relationship. This interaction was expected to lead to enhanced internality in the child participants. The empirical study engaged a predominantly qualitative methodology, using an action research design. The sample consisted of 14 families representing various racial groups and family structures. Data collection methods included questionnaires, observation and focus groups to determine the effectiveness of the proposed therapeutic model. Results showed that group parent guidance based on a social cognitive learning approach and focussing on development, responsibility, consistency, home environment, parent style, emotional intelligence, modelling, discipline and roles of mothers and fathers is effective in enhancing internal locus of control in primary school children. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The purpose of this research has been to investigate the relationships between team building, salutogenesis and performance. Team building was investigated by focusing on the directive and interactive dimensions of • climate • supervisory support • team work. Salutogenesis was investigated by focusing on the concepts of • sense of coherence • locus of control • self-efficacy. Work performance was investigated by focusing on • performance measurement criteria • self-appraisal as a cognitive mediator between performance and salutogenesis. In the literature survey a performance model was postulated to explain the relationships between team building, salutogenesis and performance. The personality profile of the optimal functioning individual in the context of the performance model was compiled from the personality profiles of the optimal functioning team member, the optimal functioning individual and the optimal performing individual. In the empirical investigation a sample (N = 245) of mine employees completed a battery of questionnaires using computerised data collection. The battery was subjected to item-test correlations, Cronbach alpha coefficient measurements and factor analyses, to establish the reliability and structure of each questionnaire. lntercorrelations were calculated and analysed to test the relationships between the dimensions, and concepts. Following this, the factor analysis of a five factor model established the relationships between the dimensions and concepts of team building, salutogenesis and performance. Finally, LISREL-analyses were performed to test the conceptual structure of the relationships. The empirical findings indicate that team building forms a construct based on directive and interactive dimension of climate, supervisory support and team work. Salutogenesis forms a construct and it includes the incorporation of work performance as a concept of salutogenic orientations. The relationship between the constructs was confirmed using LIS REL-analysis, thus validating the integration of the dimensions and properties within each construct into the properties of a performance model; and the personality profiles within each construct into the personality profile of the optimal functioning individual. The empirical results were integrated with the literature review. Team building and salutogenic orientations are integrated into a performance model which explains the relationships between the work environment, the behaviour of the individual and his/her performance within the context of the work environment. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to develop a way of identifying resilient and non-resilient middle-adolescent learners, by means of an instrument or otherwise, in a former Model C-school. The research paradigm is pragmatism and a methodology of mixed methods was used. A questionnaire was developed and qualitative interviews were conducted to verify the results of the questionnaire. The theoretical framework of resilience as well as the developmental phase of middle-adolescence were studied. After conducting a pilot study, the necessary changes were made and an experimental version of the questionnaire was compiled on the basis of Kumpfer’s Transactional Model. This framework includes both processes and outcomes and six main constructs were specified, viz. stressors or challenges, the environmental context, person-environment-transactional process, internal resilience factors, resilience processes and outcomes or means of reintegration. Focus was placed on internal resilience factors. The “Veerkragtigheidsvraelys vir Middel-adolessente (toets)” (VVM-A(t)) (Resilience Questionnaire for Middleadolescents (test)), was compiled consisting of forty two self-evaluation questions using a continuum scale. This self-evaluation scale gives the respondent the opportunity to respond on a continuum line between not like me at all and exactly like me. The place of research, a secondary school in an area reflecting the diversity of the South-African population, was selected by means of convenience sampling and all the grade 8 and 9 learners (294 participants) completed the VVM-A(t). Two factors were identified by means of factor analysis viz. internal locus of control and external locus of control. The VVM-A, consisting of 22 items, was finalised from these results and the participants’ scores were recalculated for the selected items. Interviews for the purpose of verification or rejection of the VVM-A were conducted with twelve participants, four from the group with high scores, four from the group with low scores and four learners that grouped near the median. The in-depth interviews confirmed the results on the VVM-A. This instrument can therefore be regarded as valid and reliable to identify the resilient and non-resilient middle-adolescent learner. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Today it seems as if each individual is responsible for choosing his/her mate. Historically, this process has been mainly regulated by culture, family and society, which make the rules and norms, and defines suitable behaviors in the mate selection process. This research aimed at constructing a scale to analyze if people consider themselves responsible for the choice of their partner and to what extent. A qualitative study using ATLAS.ti content analysis resulted in different theoretical factors. A second study sought to corroborate the theoretical factors using a principal component analysis, determining the following factors: Destiny-Predestination, Powerful Microcosm, and Internal Control factor, which explain 50.94% of the variance with 17 items. The instrument shows that the locus of control in mate choice is not a continuum that moves between internality and externality but, rather, it is multidimensional. / En la actualidad pareciera que cada individuo es responsable de la elección de pareja, sin embargo, históricamente ha sido regulado por la cultura, familia y sociedad, quienes marcan las reglas, normas y conductas adecuadas para dicha elección. Esta investigación tuvo como propósito la construcción de una escala que analiza si una persona se considera a sí misma como responsable de la elección de su pareja; para ello se cuestiona la globalidad del proceso de locus de control. Un primer estudio, cualitativo, obtuvo indicadores usando ATLAS.ti, para obtener factores teóricos. Un segundo estudio corroboró los factores teóricos mediante un análisis de componentes principales, mostrando la existencia de los factores de: DestinoPredestinación, Poderosos del Microcosmos, y Control Interno, explicando con sus 17 ítems el 50.94% de varianza. Se concluye que el locus de control en la elección de pareja no es un continuo que se mueva entre internalidad y externalidad, sino que es multidimensional. / Actuellement, il semble que chaque individu est responsable du choix d’un couple, mais, historiquement, il a été réglementé par la culture, la famille et la société, qui marquent les règles, les normes et les comportements appropriés pour cette élection. Le but de cette recherche était la construction d’une échelle qui analyse si une personne se considère comme responsable du choix de son partenaire; pour cela, la globalité du processus de locus de contrôle est mise en question. Une première étude qualitative a obtenu des indicateurs en utilisant ATLAS.ti, pour obtenir des facteurs théoriques. Une deuxième étude a corroboré les facteurs théoriques au moyen d’une analyse des composantes principales, montrant l’existence des facteurs: Fate-Pré- destination, Microcosme Puissant et Contrôle Interne, expliquant avec leurs 17 items les 50.94% de variance. Nous concluons que le locus de contrôle dans le choix du couple n’est pas un continuum qui se déplace entre l’internalité et l’externalité, mais qu’il est multidimensionnel. / Hoje, parece que cada indivíduo é responsável pela escolha de seu parceiro, no entanto, tem sido historicamente regulado pela cultura, família e sociedade, que estabelecem regras, normas e comportamentos adequados a essa escolha. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo construir uma escala que analise se uma pessoa se considera responsável pela escolha de seu parceiro; para isso, a globalidade do processo de locus de controle é questionada. Um primeiro estudo qualitativo, obteve indicadores usando ATLAS.ti, para obter fatores teóricos. Um segundo estudo corroborou os fatores teóricos através de uma análise de componentes principais, mostrando a existência dos fatores de Destinação-Predestinação, Poderosa do Microcosmo e Controle Interno, explicando com seus 17 itens 50.94% de variância. Concluímos que o locus de controle na escolha do par não é um continuum que se move entre internidade e externalidade, mas é multidimensional.

Syftet med studien är att med hjälp av en internationellt tillämpad enkät och med utgångspunkt i studenters attityder till klimatförändringar (vid Örebro universitet) undersöka deras klimatoro, inställning till regeringens klimatåtgärder, miljömedvetna handlingar, samt inställning till ekosociala interventioner. Det empiriska material som studien bygger på samlades in genom en webbenkät som undersökte respondenternas tankar och känslor i relation till klimatförändringarna, samt deras inställning till vissa miljömedvetna handlingar och ekosociala interventioner. Den insamlade empirin analyserades sedan mot bakgrund av teorierna kognitiv dissonans, Environmental Locus of Control (ELOC) och grönt socialt arbete. Studiens resultat indikerar en låg grad av kognitiv dissonans bland studenternas tankar och beteenden kopplat till klimatförändringar då majoriteten agerar i enlighet med sina tankar och känslor. Vidare visade det sig att andelen personer med hög grad av miljövänliga beteenden var störst bland de som upplevde hög grad av klimatoro, upplevde intern ELOC och påverkades i hög grad negativt av regeringens klimatåtgärder. Dessutom visade det sig att majoriteten av respondenterna hade en positiv inställning till ekosociala interventioner. / The purpose of the study is to use an internationally applied questionnaire to investigate students' attitudes towards climate change (at Örebro University), their eco-anxiety, attitudes towards government climate action, pro-environmental behaviors, and attitudes towards ecosocial interventions. The empirical material on which the study is based was collected through an online survey that examined the respondents' thoughts and feelings in relation to climate change, as well as their attitudes towards certain environmentally conscious actions and eco-social interventions. The collected empirical data was then analyzed in light of the theories of cognitive dissonance, Environmental Locus of Control (ELOC) and green social work. The study results indicate a low degree of cognitive dissonance among students' thoughts and behaviors related to climate change as the majority act in accordance with their thoughts and feelings. Furthermore, it was found that the proportion of individuals with high levels of pro-environmental behaviors was greatest among those who experienced high levels of climate anxiety, experienced internal ELOC, and were highly negatively affected by government climate action. Moreover, the majority of respondents were found to have a positive attitude towards ecosocial interventions.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Richard H. Mattson / Subjects of this research were 64 adolescents receiving treatment at two behavioral health service institutions located in an urban mid-western city. Both institutions provided horticultural therapy and non-horticultural therapy programs. Research subjects were adolescents with diverse treatment needs and their responses on research questions were inconsistent compared to other related studies with general population. Current research assessed the adolescents with horticultural therapy treatment and without horticultural therapy treatment in three aspects. First, the levels of psychological aspects of adolescents were assessed with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children. The levels of self-esteem and locus of control of adolescents with horticultural therapy treatment were not significantly different from those of adolescents without horticultural therapy treatment at both institutions. Based on the different level of worthiness and competence factors, it is recommended to design horticultural therapy programs focused on improving the worthiness factor of self-esteem. Second, the pastoralism disposition of the Children's Environmental Response Inventory was used to assess the level of environmental attitude of the adolescents with and without horticultural therapy treatment. Horticultural experience and environmental attitude had a positive relationship with most subjects. At one institution, the level of environmental attitude of the adolescents with horticultural therapy treatment was significantly higher than the adolescents without horticultural therapy treatment. The adolescents at the horticultural therapy program which was scheduled more frequently showed higher environmental attitude scores. To improve environmental attitude of adolescents, horticultural therapy program should provide diversity and abundant opportunities of horticultural experiences. Third, basic horticultural knowledge was tested with the Basic Horticultural Knowledge Questionnaire. Vegetable/fruit consumption and preference were described with the Vegetable and Fruit Preference and Consumption Survey. Basic horticultural knowledge scores of the horticultural therapy group were significantly higher than that of the non-horticultural therapy group at one institution, but the scores were similar between the two groups at the other institution. Basic horticultural knowledge of subjects was significantly correlated to their vegetable and fruit consumption. To increase vegetable/fruit consumption, horticultural therapy programs should set goals to incorporate nutrition education.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education / Kenneth F. Hughey / This study investigated the impact of a seven-session career intervention in a First Year Experience course on the dysfunctional career thoughts, locus of control, and career decision self-efficacy of underprepared college students. The career intervention was based on the cognitive information processing approach to career decision making (Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon, 1991; Peterson, Sampson, Reardon, & Lenz, 1996; Reardon, Lenz, Sampson, & Peterson, 2000; Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, & Lenz, 2004) and utilized the CTI workbook (Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996b). Participants in the study were full-time freshmen enrolled in remedial academic courses at a small, open-enrollment institution. The study was a Nonequivalent Control Group design with delayed posttest. Ten hypotheses were identified and tested. The Career Thoughts Inventory, the Rotter IE Scale, and the Career Decision Self-Efficacy-Short Form were administered at pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest. ANCOVA was used to analyze differences between the mean scores by group for each of the dependent variables. In addition, dependent t-tests were used to examine the differences between the mean scores within group for each of the dependent variables. Results of this study indicated that underprepared students who participated in the career intervention significantly improved dysfunctional career thoughts on all variables from pretest to posttest. Further, improvement in dysfunctional career thoughts was maintained four weeks after the intervention. Significant differences were also found at posttest between the treatment and control groups for CTI Total and Decision-Making Confusion. In addition, a significant positive correlation was found between dysfunctional career thinking and locus of control, indicating the participants with higher levels of dysfunctional career thoughts also had a more external locus of control. Locus of control was not significantly different from pretest to posttest in the treatment group; however, locus of control did become more internal following the intervention. At delayed posttest, locus of control of the treatment group was not significantly different from Rotter’s (1966) normative sample while the control group continued to be significantly more external than the normative sample. While career decision self-efficacy was not significantly different from pretest to posttest, students’ scores indicated confidence in their ability to perform career tasks.

Employees in the workplace face many challenges that cause stress. Despite these stresses many cope and remain positive. This study investigated positive psychological functioning among civil servants and explored how they functioned despite stressors in the work environment. The constructs of locus of control, sense of coherence, engagement and their relationship to the burnout construct (viewed as the opposite end of the wellness continuum) were used to examine this behaviour. Results showed that high sense of coherence, locus of control and engagement scores resulted in low burnout scores. Internal control and meaningfulness were found to be significant predictors of engagement. Employees will therefore be engaged in their work only if and when they display and/or are allowed to exhibit emotional meaningfulness in their work and their relationships, and when they behave and make decisions from an internal motivation. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / MA (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the relationship between locus of control (measured by the Locus of Control Inventory), work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale) and sense of coherence (measured by the Orientation to Life Questionnaire); (2) determine whether coping and non-coping individuals (measured by a coping scale) differ significantly regarding these variables, and (3) the strategies they employ to deal with change in their lives (determined by means of structured interviews). A survey design, and correlational and inferential statistical procedures were used to achieve the quantitative research objectives. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse and interpret the research data obtained from the open-ended questions on coping strategies. A convenience sample (n = 69) of individuals employed in the manufacturing sector participated in the study. The quantitative results revealed a significant relationship between the three variables and that copers and non-copers differ significantly regarding their coping. The qualitative data analysis indicated that copers and non-copers differ in terms of the coping strategies they employ to deal with change. The study represents original research which contributes new knowledge and insights for organisational employee wellness practices aimed at helping employees cope more positively with organisational change in the South African organisational context. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Knowledge management literature identifies numerous barriers that inhibit employees' knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing practices via information and communication technologies (ICTs). Presently, there is a significant gap in the literature that explains what factors promote common knowledge sharing barriers. To bridge this gap, this study examined two research questions: 1) What are the potential factors that contribute to the commonly accepted barriers to knowledge sharing?, and 2) How do these factors impact employees' use of ICTs for knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing? Literature review of 103 knowledge management articles identified three major barriers to knowledge sharing practices (lack of time, poor communication skills, and lack of trust) and three underlying factors that promoted these barriers (role conflict, role ambiguity, and locus of control). A six-stage content analysis study of the 103 knowledge articles identified 199 references to the observed contributors. To address the second research question, a causal knowledge sharing model was developed and seven hypotheses proposed. A survey consisting of 41 questions was distributed to 1,368 full-time analysts from a variety of industries, and 314 useful responses were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results confirmed that role conflict, role ambiguity, and locus of control predicted knowledge seeking and knowledge contributing behaviors via ICTs. Moreover, type of ICTs used was found to moderate the strength of these predictors.