Four components of Rotter's internal-external scale and cheating behavior

This paper studied correlations between classroom cheating and the four subscales of Rotter's I-E scale identified by Collins. One-hundred-thirty college undergraduates completed the Rotter scale converted to 46 Likert items and a 30-item multiple-choice, introductory psychology examination under crowded classroom conditions. Cheating, as indexed by answer overlap with adjacent neighbors as compared to answer overlap with distant subjects, correlated significantly with the difficult-easy subscale but not with the other subscales, and not with the overall I-E scale. Results are taken as justification for the Collins' subscales and are discussed in terms of the multidimensional aspects of the overall I-E dimension.     

Effect of individualized goal-setting on college biology students' locus of control

This study investigated the effect of Individualized Goal-Setting A-T, relative to Classic A-T, on a student's locus of control (generalized and academic). This study also examined the effect of pretesting, relative to no pretesting, on a student's locus of control. Sixty students in an introductory, Audio-Tutorial, college zoology course were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Control groups (Classic A-T) completed the course in the usual manner. Treatment groups (IGS A-T) completed the course in the usual manner with one exception. That is, they used a different format for Optional Minicourse mastery. This new format released greater control to students over means as well as ends of minicourse mastery. Data were collected through use of the Solomon Four-Group design, with two levels of treatment (Classic A-T, IGS A-T) and two levels of pretesting (pretest, no pretest). Instruments included the Rotter I-E and Schafer Academic I-E Locus of Control Scales. Posttest scores were analyzed by a 2 × 2 multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The following conclusions were made (p < 0.10).

• 1 IGS A-T, relative to Classic A-T, has no significant effect on a student's locus of control.
• 2 Pretesting, relative to no pretesting, has no significant effect on posttest locus of control.

     

The effect of modifying the cognitive tempo of reading disabled children on reading comprehension

The present investigation was concerned with teaching poor readers to use a reflective cognitive style. It was hypothesized that such a strategy would facilitate the reading ability of poor readers. To test this hypothesis, approximately half the poor readers and half the average readers were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group of children was taught to delay their responses and to use more efficient search and scanning techniques. All groups were tested before and after training on the Matching Familiar Figures test and the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test. Poor readers' vocabulary and comprehension scores and level of reflectivity improved following training. It was concluded that imposing slow reading strategies on impulsive children is an important factor in developing educational programs for children with reading disabilities and that teaching poor readers a reflective cognitive strategy may have important consequences on the child's reading performance.     

The relationship between student orientations to college,sat scores,and Rotter I-E scores

Over 2000 undergraduates for whom SAT scores were available completed the Student Orientations Survey (SOS) and the Rotter I-E Control Scale. F tests showed that high SAT-Verbal scores were associated with an Exploratory orientation to college, and low SAT-Verbal scores with a Preparatory outlook. Low SAT-Math scores were associated with three of the Preparatory scales, but also with three of the Exploratory scales of the SOS. In terms of SOS results, individuals with high-Verbal/low-Math scores tended to have an Exploratory orientation and individuals with low-Verbal/high-Math scores were more Preparatory in their outlook toward college. SAT pattern was not associated with Rotter I-E scores. The relationship between I-E scores and SOS scale scores indicated that inner control, as measured by the Rotter scale, does not appear to be synonymous with autonomy and a liking for self-direction. Suggestions for further research into the congruence of students' educational attitudes with institutional philosophies, departmental objectives, and the orientations of instructors were discussed.     

The influence of humorous atmosphere on divergent thinking

Two studies investigating the influence of a humorous atmosphere on students' creativity scores are presented. In the first study 78 adolescents were shown humorous film clips and given a task requiring them to write captions for cartoons. A creativity test was subsequently administered to these students and to a control group. In the second study, Form A of the Torrance creativity test (TCT) with standard instructions was given to 130 adolescents. These were then divided into two groups, one experimental and one control. The experimental group was instructed to complete Form B of the TCT with humorous responses, while the control group was instructed to proceed as before. Results of both experiments showed that a humorous atmosphere significantly increases creativity scores. Several explanations for the findings were proposed and the practical applicability of the results in education were stressed.     

Teacher Locus of Control,Teacher Behavior,and Student Behavior as Determinants of Student Achievement

Abstract

The relationship between teacher locus of control (A), teacher behavior (B), student behavior (C), and student achievement (D) was investigated. It was predicted that internal teachers would produce higher achieving students by maintaining a controlled learning environment, thereby engaging students in more appropriate on-task behavior. The first part of the study found modest correlations between I-E scores of 44 fourth grade teachers and student achievement in reading, language, and math. In the second part, the behavior of a subsample of 17 teachers and their students was observed. Although the complete A-B-C-D link was not obtained, several parts of the model did relate significantly.     

A survey of practices of teachers of the gifted

The purpose of this study was to examine the self‐concepts, locus of control, and machi‐avellianism of 169 ethnically diverse middle grade students identified as gifted. Subjects consisted of 90 African‐American (31 boys, 18 girls). Self‐concept, locus of control, and machiavellianism were assessed by Me: A Self‐Concept Scale for Gifted Children (Feldhusen &; Kolloff, 1981), the Nowicki‐Strickland Locus of Control Scale (Nowicki &; Strickland, 1973), and Mach IV Scale (Christie &; Geis, 1970) respectively. A three‐way analysis of variance (group × Gender × Grade) on subjects’ scores revealed significant group differences in self‐concept. No significant gender or grade differences were found in self‐concept. No significant group, gender, or grade differences were found in locus of control and machiavellianism. Self‐concept was significantly and positively correlated with internal locus of control and with low machiavellianism. Mean scores indicated that ethnically diverse students who are gifted had positive self‐concepts, internal locus of control, and were low machiavellians.     

The Effects of Two Models of Staff Development on Self-Awareness and Attitudes of Teachers with Internal vs. External Locus of Control

This study investigated the effects of two staff development models–role playing and open instruction–on the self-awareness and attitudes of teachers with internal vs. external locus of control. In a 2 x 2 design for analysis of variance, 27 composition teachers were randomly assigned, and subsequently stratified by locus of control scores, to two parallel but contrasting summer workshop programs to test the following hypotheses: teachers in the role-playing group would be more self-aware and have more positive attitudes toward inservice education than would teachers in the open instruction group; teachers of internal locus of control would be more self-aware and have more positive attitudes toward inservice education than would teachers of external locus of control. Significant correlations were found between the instructor in the roleplaying group but not in the open instruction group with regard to self-awareness. No significant differences were found between treatment groups with regard to attitudes toward inservice education; however, significant differences were found with respect to locus of control on all three scales, specifically teachers of internal locus of control showed significantly more positive attitudes toward inservice education than teachers with external locus of control. In addition there was a significant treatment x locus of control interaction.     

Selection of Safety Patrol Members in Elementary Schools

Abstract

As experimental studies to compare a control group with an experimental group in new mathematics programs were introduced, experimenters became aware that many variables which could have an observable effect on test scores were not being measured. Among these was the student-subject's attiude toward his preparation for the course work under comparison. In order to ascertain a subject's attitude toward his mathematical preparation for college Calculus an attitude scale of the Thurstone type was developed. Students at two institutions in Oklahoma were used to obtain statements regarding their attitude toward their mathematical preparation, and to scale these statements. Two final scales were developed, one with a high face validity, and one with an abstract, research oriented base.     

The effects of instructional organization and locus of control orientation on meaningful learning in high school biology students

This study investigated the effects on meaningful learning achievement of concept-related instructional organization and locus of control orientation. Two five-week instructional treatments were developed, one which explicitly stressed concept relationships and one which did not. Five hundred and forty-one subjects at six Indiana high schools were involved in the study. Analyses of covariance of posttest and six-week retention test scores with treatment as the independent variable showed no significant treatment effect. Analyses of variance of test scores with locus of control orientation as the independent variable resulted in highly statistically significant differences. Subjects with an internal locus of control orientation achieved more than externally oriented subjects. A two-way analysis of covariance by treatment and locus of control orientation resulted in a statistically significant treatment/locus of control interaction effect for retention test scores. Externally oriented subjects who were exposed to the concept-related treatment generally retained more than those in the comparison group. Internally oriented subjects retained about the same amount of information regardless of treatment group. When the male and female subjects were analyzed separately, the interaction effect appeared greater for females than for males.     

THE PLAY'S THE THING

A series of workshops concerned with Repetition Strain Injury (RSI) and Video Display Units (VDUs) is described from its first traditional design where an expert transmitted latest findings and participants discussed them, through its evolution to final form. Participants arrived with a large collective, experiential knowledge which dispelled myths about RSI, and a view that job redesign, or organizational restructuring, was the strategy for the future. The unpredicted and complex nature of RSI together with the community's well‐informed perspective, demanded a research and learning approach to RSI itself and to creating non‐bureaucratic organisations for its prevention. Each workshop and its design built upon learning from the last. These evolutionary steps and their effects are described and evaluated. Both RSI itself and the workshops raise many issues: new approaches to holistic conceptions of human health, the long‐term and side‐effects of computerized technology, our organizational designs and particularly, our elitist conceptions of ‘research’ and ‘knowledge’ and the functions of Continuing Education in a world characterized by conflicting values and relevant uncertainty. Given that we are increasingly confronted by unexpected crises, these workshops may provide a model of an Adult/Continuing Education which adapts its methods to the needs of its clients for a more active, adaptive future.     

The effects of group relaxation training/large muscle exercise,and parental involvement on attention to task,impulsivity, and locus of control among hyperactive boys

This study examined the effects of group relaxation training/large muscle exercise and parental involvement on attention to task, impulsivity, and locus of control among 34 hyperactive boys. Subjects were randomly assigned to treatment (T₁ and T₂) and control groups. The experimental treatments each included three once‐weekly group sessions of relaxation training and large muscle exercise; in addition, parents were involved with the intervention for T₂ subjects. (Parental participation unfortunately was less than planned.) Following treatment both experimental groups recorded significantly higher attention to task, lower impulsivity, and lower locus of control scores, indicating a more internal orientation. While differences between treatment and control groups were clear‐cut, those between the two treatment groups were not; T1, subjects demonstrated higher attention to task, lower impulsivity, and more external locus of control scores in comparison with T2, subjects. While relaxation training and large muscle exercise appear to warrant inclusion in programs involving hyperactive children, no such recommendation can be made for including parents at this stage.     

Enhancing the Attitudes and Self-Efficacy of Older Adults Toward Computers and the Internet: Results of a Pilot Study

This pilot study explored whether a manualized training program could enhance older adults' computer self-efficacy and attitudes toward computers and the Internet. A total of 32 community-dwelling adults 65 years of age or older were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group, with each group consisting of 8 women and 8 men. The experimental group received 6 weeks of training with two-hour one-on-one sessions once per week. The same training was administered to the control group upon completion of the posttest, 6 weeks after the baseline assessment, to match the procedures on all counts with the exception of training administration. The results of two ANOVAs indicated that participants within the experimental group improved significantly on both their computer self-efficacy (p < .001) and attitudinal scores (p < .001) at the posttraining assessment. No improvements were found in the control group.     

Locus of control and self-concept in achieving and underachieving bright elementary students

This study examined a group of academically bright fourth-grade children for positive relationships of academic achievement with locus of control and self-concept. Twenty achievers and nine underachievers received the Interllectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire (IAR) and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Two-factor ANOVAs were used to examine the self-concept and locus of control scores, with sex and achievement serving as the two independent factors. The results showed that achievers had significantly higher self-concepts than underachievers on the intellectual and school status subscale. In addition, achievers had significantly higher internal locus of control scores than underachievers for the IAR total score and the IAR positive score. No sex differences were revealed for either self-concept or locus of control. Implications of these results are discussed briefly.     

Some Observations with Respect to the Kuder Preference Record

Abstract

The effects of modeling, modeling with rule structure, and race of model on adopting standards for self-control were measured by exposing black boys to a black or a white adult male model who consistently chose a self-control response as a reaction to an intentional act of transgression combined with either a rule statement (rule-structure group) or a summary of the story (no-rule-structure group). Subjects in a control group were not exposed to a model. Treatment consisted of exposure to modeling procedures and testing over a three-week period. Results indicated that modeling is an effective means of modifying verbal responses in black boys (p .05). A significant interaction of race of model with repeated sessions indicated that from baseline to treatment sessions, black boys exposed to a black model increased in the number of self-control responses to a greater degree than did black boys exposed to a white model ip .05). There were no significant differences between the self-control scores and rule-statement scores of the rule-structure and no- rule-structure groups. However, the subjects in the no-rule-structure group as well as the rule-structure group gave more rule statements than the control group although the no-rule-structure group was not exposed to a model verbalizing this rule statement. This finding is explained in terms of Aronfreed's concept of social facilitation.     

Big school,small school: Impact of the high school environment

An investigation of the relationship between high school priorities and self-concept was undertaken. Upper and underclassmen from large and small high schools completed questionnaires and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Participation in five activity areas was related to self-concept using a multiple-regression technique. The perceived similarity of each student's priorities with the school's priorities was also correlated with self-concept. The relationships accounting for the greatest proportion of the variance in self-concept scores were found among small-school upperclassmen. The results were interpreted as support for Barker's argument that small school students feel a greater obligation to participate in school activities.     

Relationships among cooperation-competition and locus of control in social and academic situations among children in traditional and open classrooms

The relationships among cooperation-competition, perceptions of locus of control in social situations, and perceptions of locus of control in intellectual-academic situations was compared among 89 fourth- and fifth-grade students in traditional and open classrooms. Children from the open education setting displayed substantially more cooperative behavior on Madsen's marble-pull game than children from the traditional school. They also made significant gains in cooperative behavior from the first to the second trial, while the difference between trials was not significant for the traditional students. Traditional students displayed significantly higher internality for locus of control in academic settings, while perceptions of locus of control in social settings did not differ for the two groups. Academic and social locus of control judgments were significantly correlated for the open education students, but not for the students from traditional classrooms.     

Effects of conversational noise,locus of control,and field dependence/independence on the performance of academic tasks

To evaluate the effects of conversational noise on the comprehension/retention of 2000-word text excerpts, two groups were randomly formed. Group 1 (n = 20) studied under noise conditions and Group 2 (n = 24) studied under nonnoise conditions. In the analysis of the scores on tests over the material studied under noise and nonnoise conditions, overall ANCOVAs indicated no significant differences among the two groups in performance on the comprehension/retention tests. Further analyses, however, indicated significant differences between the performance of identifiable subgroups under noise and nonnoise study conditions. Internals on Rotter's I-E scale outperformed Externals under noise, whereas the reverse was true under nonnoise conditions.