The literature indicates that: (i) locus of control is
a multi-factorial construct; and (ii) psychological maladjustment
is associated with a generalised perception that
reinforcements are not personally controlled. Little is
known regarding the importance of the identified factors to
psychopathology. The relationship between locus of control
and adjustment is empirically well established but void of
theoretical basis. The present study proposes a bridge
between locus of control and Seligman's theory of learned
helplessness .
Forty hospitalised psychiatric patients (diagnosed
schizophrenic) and forty persons chosen randomly from a voter's
roll ("normals") were administered tests of locus of control;
namely, the Internal-External scale (Rotter, 1966). The
Internal,Powerful Others and Chance Scale (Levenson, 1972)
and the Interpersonal Trust Scale (Rotter, 1967). The
Psychotic Reaction Profile (Lorr, O'Connor and Stafford, 1960),
a behavioural questionnaire, was completed for each patient.
The results suggest that a multidimensional analysis does
not add substantially to an understanding of the relationship
between locus of control and psychological adjustment. It
is however arguable that the study casts doubt on the utility
of existing measures rather than the dimensions as such.
Support was provided for the hypothesis linking locus of control
to behavioural symptoms of learned helplessness. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1980.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/6144 |
| Date | January 1980 |
| Creators | Beck, Howard A. |
| Contributors | Strydom, J. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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