Locus of Control

As my Grandpa Bert always said, “Wherever there are people there are problems.” Problems are indelible aspects of life. Problems impact psychological, biological, and situational aspects of life. Problems perceived as challenges present opportunities to strengthen character or improve a situation. As Viktor Frankl observes, “even the tragic and negative aspects of life, such as unavoidable suffering, can be turned into a human achievement by the attitude which a man adopts toward his predicament.” Though many of life’s problems are universal, each person experiences them uniquely. As such, finding solutions to problems must also begin with each individual.

Discovering solutions to life’s problems begins with perception and attitude. Two dichotomous attitudes exist. Some people look within themselves to find solutions, while other people depend upon their situation to change, that is, to let fate takes its course. According to Julian Rotter, a mid-century American psychologist, all people possess some degree of internal and external locus of control. An internal locus of control exists when individuals believe that the responsibility for personal gain lies within themselves. Conversely, individuals with an external locus of control believe that their lives are controlled by “luck, chance, or powerful others.”

Rotter’s concepts of locus of control stem from a behavioral approach to psychology. I have adapted his concept to a humanistic approach to psychology which emphasizes the importance of attitude, the way one thinks and feels about life. This, in turn, affects the individual’s perception of the world.

Specific attitudes of people with a strong internal locus of control include self-confidence, moral clarity and confidence, resilience, grit, patience, personal responsibility, and an acute sense of meaning and purpose. Specific attitudes of people with an external locus of control include learned helplessness, lack of confidence, moral ambiguity, provisional existence, lack of personal responsibility, and purposelessness.

Much research into these two different concepts reveals that individuals who form an internal locus of control become more successful, healthier, and happier than those who maintain an external locus of control. As a teacher, I promoted an internal locus of control toward life. In fact, I leveraged a student’s concern over grades to engender and reinforce grit, resilience, and personal responsibility. For example, my syllabi stated, “I reserve the right to raise a grade if, in my judgment, a student demonstrates positive growth in attitude and performance.”

As parents, my wife and I strove to establish a family foundation of love, objective moral values, consistent rules, natural consequences for good and poor choices, forgiveness, and personal responsibility. Personal responsibility included taking ownership for mistakes; making positive adjustments in attitude and behavior; having the courage to do what is right, no matter what; and depending upon God and self before all others. As parents, we taught that all life is meaningful and to adopt the attitude that every problem in life is an opportunity for personal growth. Even when the meaning of a problem is not readily apparent, know that, in the fullness of time, meaning will reveal itself. Finally, we provided a faith and value based education to reinforce our values.

Focus upon attitudes of personal responsibility and self-determination are cornerstones of my counseling approach. Problems must be reframed as challenges to be met with self-reliance and concerted effort. An opposite attitude of victimhood breeds dependence upon circumstances, thus robbing the individual of the essential human qualities of personal responsibility and self-transcendence. Frankl's overarching experience here is that "Once we deal with man as the victim of circumstances and their influences, we not only cease to treat him as a human being but also lame his will to change."