Perceptions of Self-Control

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Perceptions of Self-Control: Locus of Control, Leaned Helplessness, and Self-Determination Adrian Gonzalez Social Psychology Professor Harry Fink Perceptions of Self-Control: Locus of Control, Learned Helplessness, and Self-Determination The world is in your hands. Where did my keys go? I’ll never find the right one. If I push myself, I know I will overcome. I bet you may have heard or even told yourself one of these statements at least once in your lifetime. As we search for meaning in life, we constantly look to control emotions, behavior, and even outcomes. These abilities that we seek - that can motivate us or even cripple us - are perceptions of self-control. In this research paper, I will briefly compare internal and external locus of control, and show how learned helplessness can be countered with self-determination. How many times have you, in a competitive setting, blamed an unfavorable outcome on external forces? How often have you congratulated yourself for an accomplishment? After all, “The locus of control is related to the perception of the cause of certain events” (Marijana, 2010). In other words, certain life experiences and outcomes can be attributed to how one reflects on the reasons why they happen. As a returning student to LAVC, I find myself concerned with locus of control. Just last year, I was a junior at CSUN, taking rigorous courses that, had I consulted with my mentor at LAVC, would not have taken all at once. Due to my stubbornness, my GPA took a nosedive on my first year as a transfer student and I was disqualified; now I’m required to make up for those bad grades if I want to return to finish what I started. Even though I should move on and get back up on my feet, I am conflicted with either taking personal responsibility, or attributing my failure to the lack of advisement. By definition, Marijana (2010) goes

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