Hanna Levenson

Activism and Powerful Others: Distinctions within the Concept of Internal-External Control

Summary Some studies report that activists are Internals, while others claim they are Externals, holding a belief in chance, fate, and powerful others. Three new scales were constructed in order to measure belief in chance (C) as separate from expectancy for control by powerful others (P), and perceived mastery over ones personal life (I). Two studies are reported. (1.) As predicted, responses from 96 adults indicated that only a belief in chance was differentially related to involvement and information on anti-pollution activities. (2.) In factor analyzing the responses of 329 college males to the 24 items of the new scales, three main factors were identified — I, P, and C. The validity and usefulness of the tripartite division in clarifying past findings regarding the multidimensionality of I-E were discussed.

Are Women Still Prejudiced against Women? A Replication and Extension of Goldberg's Study

Summary An article by Philip Goldberg in 1968 indicated that college women evaluated articles allegedly written by men more positively than the identical articles attributed to women. Two independent studies were carried out to replicate and extend his study in order (a) to assess the degree to which males reflect a prejudice similar to that of the females and (b) to see if the female of today would be as antifemale as her counterpart in the 1960s. Results from Study I (N = 134), using male and female subjects, indicated that no significant differences were observed when authors purported sex was the independent variable. In Study II, when 145 male and female students were asked to judge a student essay, replies revealed that female subjects rated the essay as written by a female as better than the same essay as written by a male (p < .01).

Multidimensional locus of control in sociopolitical activists of conservative and liberal ideologies.

Three studies were conducted to examine the relationship between a multi-dimensional measure of locus of control and sociopolitical activism, controlling for the effects of political ideology. In Study 1, 98 male college students completed a measure of conservatism-liberalism. Kerpelmans Activism scale, and locus of control scales designed to differentiate between two types of externals: belief in powerful others versus belief in chance forces. In Studies 2 and 3, female college students (Ns=26 and 40) who differed in the extent of their participation in leftist political activities or feminist causes responded to the multidimensional locus of control scales. As predicted, results from analyses of variance and trend analyses indicate that for liberals, increases in expectancies of control by powerful others are positively associated with increases in activism, while for conservatives, there is a negative relationship. The importance of controlling for ideology and the implications of the differentiated view of externality for understanding social action are discussed.

Differences between Blacks' and Whites' Expectations of Control by Chance and Powerful others

Black and white college students (N = 194) completed the Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance locus of control scales. Findings indicated that students from low-income families had stronger perceptions that their lives were controlled by chance forces than wealthier students (p < .05). Analyses of covariance controlling for level of socioeconomic status showed that blacks scored significantly higher than whites in their perception of control by powerful others (p < .05) and chance forces (p < .001).

Attitudes toward others and Components of Internal-External Locus of Control:

In Study I, 42 undergraduates responded to the Machiavellianism scale and to Levensons Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance scales. Results indicated that, for females, increases in Machiavellianism were correlated with feelings of personal inadequacy, while for males, the willingness to manipulate others was related to perceptions of a world ruled by chance. In Study II, 75 undergraduates completed the locus of control scales and two scales to measure philosophies of human nature. As hypothesized, the more subjects felt they were controlled by powerful others, the more they perceived people as untrustworthy and the less they saw them as altruistic. Results are interpreted as further demonstrating the usefulness of a multidimensional measure of locus of control.

MULTIDIMENSIONAL LOCUS OF CONTROL AND VOLUNTARY CONTROL OF GSR

Much attention has been focused recently on the relationship between biofeedback and locus of control. Biofeedback refers to any technique using instrumentation to provide a person with instantaneous information on a bodily function, of which he is usually not aware, e.g., heartrate, GSR. Locus of control (Rotter, 1966) refers to the degree to which one sees reinforcements as contingent on his own behavior (inrernals) or determined by fate, chance, or powerful others (externals). Fotopoulos ( 1970) and Ray ( 1971) smdied the relationship between locus of control, biofeedback, and the ability to control heartrate. Using Rotrers I-E scale, they found that inrernals were able to incrme their heartrates significantly more than externals. However, one cannot ascertain from these results if internals were more successful because they believed in self-control or because they believed chance was not an important factor in their lives. Several investigators have presented evidence indicating that the I-E scale is not unidimensional and have suggested that to be a valid instrument, the I-E scale must undergo further refinements. Levenson (1973) has developed three independent scales which attempt to measure different aspects of locus of control+xpectancies of control by self (I scale), powerful others (P scale), and chance (C scale). The purpose of this smdy was to use the new multidimensional scales in order to understand more precisely the relationship berween personality and biofeedback and to examine this relationship in terms of a measure other than heartrate. It was predicted that only scores on the I scale (personal control) would be significantly related to ability to control ones GSR. During a regular class period, 100 male and female undergraduates enrolled in an introductory psychology course, were administered the three scales. Of this number, 30 volunteered to participate in the biofeedback sessions. Ss were provided with a definition of GSR and were instructed to try to lower their GSR responses over a 2-min. interval with visual feedback provided in the form of a display meter. This procedure was repeated five times interspersed with l-min. rest intervals. A Smelting Psychogalvanoscope was used. The scale scores of the 10 Ss who were best able to lower their GSR responses (mean change = -2.75 reaction unin) were compared with the scores of those 10 Ss who were least able to lower their GSR (mean change = +. 13 ) . As expected, results indicated that those Ss who were more successful at using biofeedback had significantly higher I (personal control) scale scores (M = 38.4) than those who could not make use of the biofeedback (M = 32.3, t = 2.61, p < .01). There was no relationship between ability to control GSR and scores on the P (powerful others) or the C (chance) scales. Thus, personality differences are related to biofeedback performance. Furthermore, only beliefs about self-control and not about chance or powerful others appear to be relevant to voluntary coorrol of autonomic functions.

Multidimensional Locus of Control in Prison Inmates

mined by fate, chance, or powerful others (externally control7.ed), Lefcourt and Ludwig (1966) reasoned that since the inmate is relatively powerless to pursue his own goals in prison, he should score higher in external control than a noninstitutionalized person. The predicted difference was significant only for Negro prisoners, leaving the authors to conclude that the influence of race, not imprisonment was crucial in determining self evaluation of personal effectiveness. LeBlanc and Tolor (1972) also predicted that the prison inmate would be more external in his general expectancy of reinforcement, Results using Rotter’s Internal-External scale, however, revealed no significant differences between inmates’ perceptions of locus of control and those of prison staff members. While these investigators found no significant relationship between time served 6n current sentence and externality, there was a tignificant (though low) positive correlation between externality and total time spent in’-!!!t~prison, Wood, Wilson, Jessor, and Bogan (1966) found that those who were defined as ~’troublemakers&dquo; by the prison staff had significantly higher expectations of control by fate, chance

Research Methods in Personality Five Years After Carlson's Survey

This study examined the degree to which research published in 1973 avoided the methdological and ethical problems found by Carlson in 1968. Findings are reported on 304 individual studies published in the 1973 volumes of Journal of Personality and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Contrary to expectation, research published in 1973 as compared with that from 1968 (a) included less information on sex differences, (b) focused as heavily on undergraduate samples, (c) used fewer interactionist designs, (d) employed more one-shot sessions, and (e) involved as much deception. The one area of improvement is that increases in the incidence of debriefing were observed. Differences in findings between the two journals are delineated, and suggestions for improving research procedures are outlined.

Reactions to Humor as a Function of Reference Group and Dogmatism

Summary The purpose of the present study was to examine the interaction between a social (reference group) and a personality (dogmatism) variable as it affects behavior (appreciation of humor). Male undergraduates (N = 152) were selected for a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial analysis of variance design. The independent variables were (a) whether the membership group (university student body) was identified as the Ss reference group or not; (b) the open or closed mindedness of the Ss; and (c) two types of humor (jokes referring to the university students or control jokes). The dependent variable was the rating of the jokes as to funniness. Results indicated that closed-minded Ss rated all humor significantly funnier than open-minded Ss (p <.01). Possible reasons for the overwhelming influence of the personality variable are discussed.

Perception of Environmental Modifiability and Involvement in Antipollution Activities

Summary Members of an antipollution group were significantly less optimistic about the possibilities of cleaning up the environment than Nonmembers. Members expressed views that indicated that they were less in favor of technological means to lessen pollution and believed restoration of the environment would be difficult.