Locus of Control

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5/18/2015 Locus of Control - Career Development from MindTools.com Locus of Control Are You in Charge of Your Destiny? As the environment around you changes, you can either attribute success and failure to things you have control over, or to forces outside your influence. Which orientation you choose has a bearing on your long-term success. This orientation is known as your "locus of control". Its study dates back to the 1960s, with Julian Rotter's investigation into how people's behaviors and attitudes affected the outcomes of their lives. Locus of control describes the degree to which individuals perceive that outcomes result from their own behaviors, or from forces that are external to themselves. This produces a continuum with external control at one end and internal control at the other: Do you feel someone else is pulling your strings? © iStockphoto/Revenant_hm People who develop an internal locus of control believe that they are responsible for their own success. Those with an external locus of control believe that external forces, like luck, determine their outcomes. Use the interactive quiz below to determine your current locus of control: Understanding Your Own Locus of Control Instructions: For each pair of statements, choose the one that you believe to be the most accurate, not the one you wish was most true. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. Click the 'Calculate My Total' button to add up your score and check your result using the scoring table underneath. 22 Statements to Answer A B 1 STATEMENT A: Bad luck is what leads to many of the disappointments in life. STATEMENT B: Disappointments are usually the result of mistakes you make. 2 STATEMENT A: Political http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_90.htm 1/10 5/18/2015 Locus of Control - Career Development from MindTools.com
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