He Control locus It is a widely used topic in psychology, and it affects an individual’s point of view and the way they interact with the environment. Therefore, it is a concept of fundamental importance in any psychotherapy process, since it influences the way in which patients who go to the psychologist interpret their progress or their errors in relation to the problem that has led them to seek help. professional. And, in a certain sense, the locus of control is closely linked to self-esteem, as well as general emotional well-being.
For all these reasons, here we will see what the locus of control consists of and how it affects us regardless of whether or not we have developed psychopathology.
Rotter, in 1966, proposed “locus of control” as a personality trait in his Social Learning Theory
“If the person perceives that the event is contingent on his or her behavior or his or her own relatively permanent characteristics, it has been said to be a belief in internal control”; instead, “when a reinforcement is perceived as following some personal action, but not being entirely contingent upon it, it is typically perceived, in our culture, as the result of luck, and in this sense it has been said to be a belief in external control.
According to Rotter’s Social Learning Theory, prior to Albert Bandura, human behavior takes place with a continuous interaction between cognitive, behavioral and environmental determinants Therefore, the perception of control or lack of control that a person has over the events that occur around them is important for the course of their own life.
Locus of control is a relatively stable personality variable that represents the attribution that a person makes about whether or not the effort they make is contingent on their behavior There are two ends of the continuum: internal locus of control and external locus of control.
The internal locus of control occurs in the event that an individual perceives that the specific reinforcing event is contingent on his or her own behavior. That is, the person perceives that what has happened externally is thanks to their behavior and has control over the external consequences. For example, a person with an internal locus of control attributes his happiness to himself. If he wants to be happy, he can work on it.
The external locus of control occurs when the individual perceives that an external event has occurred independently of his or her behavior. Therefore, the individual associates the event that has occurred with chance, luck or destiny. For example, a person with an external locus of control attributes his or her happiness to another person or the situation.
Locus of control and personal development
This concept is important, since if a person thinks that what happens around them does not depend on them, you may not act to change it For example, if a person thinks that he has no control over the choice of the political party that will govern his country, he may not do anything to change it, not even exercise his right to vote. On the other hand, if a person thinks that his vote will be important for the election of a new government, it is possible that he will be motivated to change the political landscape and may even go out to demonstrate.
The feeling of not being able to control an event frequently generates a paralyzed state that disables people from achieving the proposed goals.
The internal locus of control is also an important aspect for personal development, since a person with an internal locus of control believes in their possibilities in the face of what happens externally and knows that by trying their best they will go far.
Learned helplessness: external locus of control
In our article “Learned helplessness: delving into the psychology of the victim” we explain the phenomenon of learned helplessness According to César Ojeda, learned helplessness “refers to the condition in which a person or animal becomes inhibited in the face of aversive or painful situations when the actions to avoid it have not been fruitful, ending up developing passivity in the face of them.”
Therefore, learned helplessness could be a consequence of the individual having learned to behave passively , perceiving that you cannot do anything to change a negative situation even though there are real possibilities for change. The direct consequence of this attribution is the loss of coping response.
Learned helplessness is a concept widely used in clinical psychology, since it is closely associated with depressive states. There are several studies that accept this hypothesis, for example, this study from the Catholic University of Chile that shows that patients with depression and anxiety score lower on the Rotter Locus of Control Scale. That is, those prone to depression and anxiety tend towards the external locus of control.
Resistant personality: internal locus of control
According to psychologist Bertrand Regader, “a resilient person is one who, despite suffering from problems and even disorders that could become destabilized, is able to maintain strength, resist and stay afloat. These types of subjects are not immune to the life events that we all experience, such as the death of a loved one, a romantic breakup, a bad work situation… but they differ from others in that they are capable of stoically accepting these events. setbacks in life and draw strength from weakness to move forward.”
A psychologist at the University of Chicago, Suzanne C. Kobasa, conducted several studies on the resilient personality According to his conclusions, people with this type of personality have several characteristics. They tend to be people of great commitment, internal locus of control and oriented to challenge and with greater openness to change.
Internal locus of control and external locus of control at work
The locus of control can also affect the job performance It is important to understand that the locus of control is a continuum, no one is 100% external or internal locus of control. Below are some characteristics of the internal and external locus of control.
