Critical Evaluation of Locus of Control: Towards a Reconceptualization of the Construct and its Measurement

The construct of locus of control at present poses certain problems. It is defined in different ways by various investigators, and at times its definition is analogous to other concepts. The expectancy of locus of control is confused with the attributions of past success-failure experiences and recent approaches have proposed conflicting solutions. There is also terminological-conceptual confusion. Locus of control scales are used for the measurement of other constructs. The dimensionality of locus of control is still lacking in coherence, is confusing, and some scales also seem to measure several different concepts. The present article discusses such problems in two sections: (a) conceptual problems and (b) problems with the measurement of the locus of control. A third section describes some possible solutions; empirical evidence is presented on the first steps of an alternative approach.

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