What is locus of control?

Locus of control is a concept describing whether people feel that control of their lives rests in their own hands (internal locus of control) or in the hands of others (external locus of control) (Rotter, 1966).

Locus of control relates to persistence in distance education (Student1, 1997). Studies (Dille & Mezack, 1991) have found that students with an internal locus of control are more likely to persist in distance education than those with external locus of control.

References

Dille, B., & Mezack, M. (1991). Identifying predictors of high risk among community college telecourse students. The American Journal of Distance Education, 5(1),24-35.

Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80, No. 609.

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