This study was designed to explore the differences between locus of control (LOC) in children from civilian and military families and to investigate whether military deployment is associated with an external locus of control more than other family dynamics. The literature has focused on the negative implications of external LOC for children’s mental health and achievement as well as in childhood chronic illness, parental absence, and parental alcoholism. However, prior research regarding this construct related to children of military families is significantly lacking. In the present study, LOC was measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children, a 40 question scale designed for individuals within the range of 3rd to 12th grade. The 54 participants in this study ranged in age from 7 to 17 and came from either a military family with a deployed parent, a civilian family with two caregivers in the home, or a divorced - separated civilian family. A univariate one-way ANOVA was conducted on the data. It was found that children of deployed military families did not score significantly different for mean locus of control than civilian separated/divorced families, or civilian intact families. A correlation comparing age and LOC scores found no significant relationship. Limitations of this study included a small sample size due to time restrictions, and subsequently reduced statistical power. Future investigations into LOC should continue to explore its relationship with children in military families, as future studies correcting for sampling may obtain significant results. Further research should also probe more deeply into the negative and positive consequences that external and internal attributional tendencies may have for children’s development, academic performance, and overall well-being.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of various navigational control options within a hypermedia learning environment on the performance of students who differed in their locus of control orientations. Ninety-three college students were classified as internal or external in their locus of control orientation based on their scores on the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale (ANSIE). They were then randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups that differed in the way participants navigated through a hypermedia instructional program dealing with the human heart. In the Linear group, participants navigated through the program in a standard linear fashion. In the Branching group, participants navigated through the program with the help of a hierarchical menu structure. In the Networked group, participants had the additional option of using embedded (associative) hyperlinks. At the conclusion of the program, participants completed a posttest that assessed two types of learning. A 2 X 3 Analysis of Variance was conducted to explore the main effects for locus of control (internal and external) and navigational control (linear, branching, and networked) and any interaction effect between the two factors. The results showed no significant differences in achievement based on participants' locus of control orientation or treatment group. There was also no significant interaction observed. The results provided no support for the hypothesis that different navigation options would improve the performance of learners differing in their locus of control orientation. / Ph. D.

Anställdas upplevda kontroll över sin arbetssituation varierar från person till person och kan till viss del bero på deras ålder och hur de upplever sin omgivning på arbetsplatsen. Studiens syfte var att undersöka eventuella samband mellan Work Locus of Control och upplevt organisationsstöd, arbetstillfredsställelse och ålder. Datainsamlingen genomfördes genom att dela ut en enkät till anställda tjänstemän med administrativa arbetsuppgifter inom offentlig och privat sektor i södra Sverige. Urvalet består av 74 deltagare (17 män och 57 kvinnor). För att mäta variablerna användes Work Locus of Control-skalan, items ur Survey of Perceived Organizational Support samt Overall Job Satisfaction. Enkäten inkluderade även bakgrundsfrågor. En korrelationsanalys med variablerna gav resultatet att Work Locus of Control har signifikanta samband med de undersökta variablerna. Resultaten går i linje med tidigare forskning och indikerar att personer som i större grad upplever sig kunna kontrollera sin arbetssituation även upplever högre organisationsstöd och högre arbetstillfredsställelse, samt att den upplevda kontrollen är högre hos äldre individer. En multipel regressionsanalys visar att hög arbetstillfredsställelse bäst predicerar en intern Work locus of Control. Resultaten visar inte någon signifikant skillnad i Work Locus of Control mellan anställda inom offentlig och privat sektor. / Employees' perceived control over their work situation varies from person to person and can to some extent depend on their age and how they perceive their environment in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible connections between Work Locus of Control and Perceived Organizational Support, Job Satisfaction and age. Data collection was performed by handing out a survey to officials with administrative duties within the public and private sectors in southern Sweden. The sample consists of 74 participants (17 men and 57 women). To measure the variables, the Work Locus of Control Scale, items from the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support and Overall Job Satisfaction, were used. The survey also included background questions. A correlation analysis of the variables yielded that the work locus of control scale has significant correlations with the studied variables. The results are in line with previous research, indicating that individuals which to a greater extent perceive themselves able to control their work situation also experience higher organizational support and higher job satisfaction, and that perceived control is higher for older individuals. A multiple regression analysis shows that a high Job Satisfaction is the best predictor of an internal Work Locus of Control. The results show no significant difference in Work Locus of Control between employees in the public and private sectors.

The primary objective was to determine whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence, locus of control and sense of coherence in a market research organisation. A secondary objective was to determine whether individuals from various biographical groups differed significantly in terms of emotional intelligence, locus of control and sense of coherence. A sample of 179 participants completed the Bar-On EQ-i, Locus of Control Inventory and Sense of Coherence Scale. There was a statistically significant relationship between emotional intelligence, locus of control and sense of coherence. No significant gender differences were found. Furthermore, the findings showed differences between occupational levels in terms of both internal locus of control and sense of coherence, but not for emotional intelligence. No significant differences were evident between education, work experience or age in terms of the three constructs. An emotional intelligence intervention programme was recommended, as well as the use of an emotional intelligence assessment instrument. Recommendations for future research included broadening the relevance of the results. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The relationship between an individual's level of spirituality, health locus of control, and participating in wellness activity was investigated. The relationship between spirituality, health locus of control on physical health was also investigated. The research question was based on prior studies that reported people who are more spiritual are healthier. Does their spirituality lead to increased levels of health, or are individual's who are more spiritual more likely to proactively take control of their health and engage in health promoting behaviors? One hundred and fifteen male and female employees completed The Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS), a spirituality measure, The Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, a measure of locus of control related to health and healthcare, and The Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Health Risk Appraisal, a self-report measure of participation in health behaviors. Physical measures of health were obtained by obtaining Body Mass Index, blood pressure readings, and a cholesterol screening. The current study looked at level of spirituality (internal, external), level of health locus of control (internal, powerful other, chance) and participation in wellness/health promoting behaviors and health. Correlational analyses were performed on the relationship between spirituality and health locus of control. Hierarchical multiple regressions were performed on the internal spirituality and internal health locus of control to examine the relationship between spirituality, health locus of control and positive health behaviors and level of physical health. Stepwise discriminant function analysis using spirituality and health locus of control as predictor variables for the health-behavior criterion variables were performed. Discussion of the results, limitations of the current study and recommendations for future research were presented.

The purpose of this study was to test for a relationship between locus of control and participation in strategic decision making. The research model included the variables of gender, locus of control, job-work involvement and preference for participative environment as possible influences on team member participation in strategic decision making. Another feature of the model was the proposed three-way interaction effect on member participation. This interaction included member job-work involvement, member preference for participation and leader locus of control.

Syftet med föreliggande undersökning är att få kunskap om hur några arbetslösa ungdomar upplever sin situation som arbetslös, vilket studeras med fokus på framtidstro, sin egen förmåga/kompetens till att påverka möjligheterna att få jobb samt vilka faktorer de upplever är viktiga när det gäller att få ett jobb inom en snar framtid. Detta studeras utifrån teorierna om locus of control och self-efficacy. Två tjejer och fem killar i åldrarna 16-24 år, samtliga arbetslösa och inskrivna på Ungdomskraft, deltog i semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet visade att majoriteten av ungdomarna har en hög tilltro till sina egna resurser och upplever att de själva har kontroll över sin situation som arbetslös. Vidare visade resultaten på ett mönster mellan intern locus of control och hög self-efficacy i samband med en positiv framtidstro med avseende på att få ett jobb. / The purpose of this study is to gain knowledge intohow some unemployed young people perceive their situation as unemployed,which is studied with a focus on their faith in the future, their ownability/competence to affect thechances of getting a job, and whichfactors they feel is importantwhen it comes to getting a jobin the near future. This is studied from theories of locus of control and self-efficacy. Two girls and five boys in the age between 16-24, all unemployed and enrolled in Ungdomskraft, participated in semi structured interviews. Theresults showed that the majority of young people have a high confidence in their own resources and feel that they have control overtheir situation as unemployed. Furthermore,the result showed patterns between internal locus of control and high self-efficacy in relation to a positive faith of the future when it comes to getting a job.

Organisationspsykologi kan ibland upplevas allt för problemorienterad med stort fokus på just problem och konflikter i organisationer. Det finns dock en inriktning på de förhållanden och processer som bidrar till att människor, grupper och organisationer kan frodas och fungera optimalt. Denna studie syftade därför till att undersöka eventuella samband mellan positiv feedback, self-efficacy, locus of control och socialt stöd. Datainsamlingen genomfördes med ett webbaserat frågeformulär bestående av en av författarna konstruerad skala avseende att mäta positiv feedback. Vidare användes Work Locus of Control Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale och subskalan Socialt Stöd ur QPS Nordic. Respondenterna i undersökningen var anställda vid tre grundskolor i en medelstor stad i mellansverige. Studien omfattade 58 deltagare varav 47 kvinnor och 11 män. Stickprovet var representativt för populationen enligt jämförelse med kommunens personalstatistik. Resultatet av denna studie visade att det fanns samband mellan positiv feedback och self-efficacy samt intern locus of control. Resultatet tydde på att positiv feedback spelade en signifikant roll i en arbetskontext. Positiv feedback är därför en variabel att beakta vid studier av arbetstillfredsställelse och arbetsprestation. / Organizational psychology can sometimes appear too problem-oriented emphasizing only the problems and conflicts within organizations. Though there is some focus on studying of the relationships and processes that contributes to people, groups and organizations working well. The purpose of this study was so to explore possible relationships between positive feedback, self-efficacy, locus of control and social support. Data was collected through a web-based questionnaire. The scales that were used were Work Locus of Control Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Social Support subscale from QPS Nordic. To measure positive feedback the authors constructed a scale specifically for the task. The participants of this study were employees at three different elementary schools in a middle-sized town in Sweden. The sample size was 58 persons (47 women and 11 men). The result of this study showed significant correlations between positive feedback, self-efficacy and locus of control. Conclusions made from the result are that positive feedback plays a significant role in the workplace and is a variable to consider for further investigation.

Studien syftade till att undersöka om det finns samband mellan conscientiousness, Locus of Control och arbetsmotivation samt om ålder och anställningslängd predicerar en del av ar-betsmotivation. Studien omfattade 63 anställda (28 kvinnor och 35 män) på ett telekommuni-kationsföretag i Sverige. För att studera conscientiousness användes ett egenformulerat test med god intern homogenitet, Cronbachs alfa = 0,85. För att mäta Locus of Control och ar-betsmotivation användes redan konstruerade test med god validitet och reliabilitet, skapade av Rotter (1966) och Cammann, Fichman, Jenkins och Klesh (i Bowling & Hammond 2008). I den statistiska prövningen användes både bivariat korrelation i form av Spearmans rho och MRA-standard och hierarkisk. Spearmans rho visade ett signifikant samband mellan consci-entiousness och arbetspsykologisk motivation. Standard MRA visar att endast conscientious-ness förklarar en del av arbetspsykologisk motivation. Varken ålder eller anställningslängd predicerade delar av arbetspsykologisk motivation, vilket inte stämmer överens med tidigare forskning. I diskussionen förs resonemang om resultatet i relation till tidigare forskning. / The study aimed to investigate whether there are correlations between conscientiousness, Lo-cus of Control and job motivation, and if age and length of service predict job motivation. The study comprised 63 staff (28 women and 35 men) at a telecommunications company in Swe-den. To study conscientiousness, we used a self-constructed test with good internal homo-geneity, Cronbach's alpha = .85. To study Locus of Control and job motivation we used al-ready developed tests, with high validity and reliability, created by Rotter (1966) and Cam-mann, Fichman, Jenkins and Klesh ( in Bowling & Hammond 2008). Statistical tests, using both bivariate correlations such as Spearman's rho and standard and hierarchical MRA showed significant relationship between conscientiousness and job motivation. Using stan-dard MRA shows that only conscientiousness predicts aspects of motivation. Neither age nor length of service predicted aspects of motivation, which is not consistent with previous re-search. The discussion is carried on effect on the outcome in relation to previous research.

Dagens samhälle ställer höga krav på individer att vara sociala, kommunikativa och inneha en förmåga att hantera ett ökande informationsflöde. Samtidigt som det ligger mycket ansvar på den enskilde individen att sålla bland stora mängder information har olika individer skilda förutsättningar att möta dessa krav. Studiens syfte var att undersöka om upplevelse av kontroll och välbefinnande hos medarbetarna påverkar kommunikationstillfredsställelse och föredragna kommunikationskanaler. Som teoretisk referensram har teori om kommunikation och subjektivt välbefinnande samt Rotters (1966) teori om Locus of Control använts. En kvantitativ enkätstudie genomfördes på en förvaltning i Tidaholms kommun i Västra Götalands län där de upplevt kommunikationsproblem i sin internkommunikation. Resultatet visade signifikanta samband mellan upplevd kontroll på arbetsplatsen och kommunikationstillfredsställese (β = -.98) samt mellan välbefinnande och kommunikationstillfredsställelse (β = 1.43). De med hög upplevelse av kontroll föredrog elektroniska och skriftliga kommunikationskanaler mer än de med låg upplevelse av kontroll. Resultatet indikerade därmed på att upplevelse av kontroll och välbefinnande inte bara påverkar hur man kommunicerar, vilket tidigare studier har visat, utan att det även påverkar hur man uppfattar kommunikation. / Today’s society places high demands on individuals to be social, communicative and to have the ability to process an increasing flow of information. While there is a lot of responsibility on the individual to screen large amounts of information, different individuals have various abilities to meet these requirements. The purpose of this study was to examine if the experience of control and well-being of the employees affect their communication satisfaction and preferred communication channels. As a theoretical framework, theories of communication and subjective well-being and Rotters (1966) theory of Locus of Control were used. A quantitative survey was conducted in Tidaholm municipal administration in Västra Götaland county, Sweden, where they had experienced problems in their internal communication. The results showed a significant correlation between Work Locus of Control and communication satisfaction (β = -.98) and between well-being and communication satisfaction (β = 1.43). The employees with internal Locus of Control preferred written and electronic communication channels more so than the employees with external Locus of Control. The results indicate therefore that Locus of Control and well-being not only affects how individuals communicate, which previous studies have shown, but it also affects how individuals perceive communication.