By Philip Chanin, Ed.D., ABPP, CGP
Board Certified Clinical Psychologist
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
www.drphilchanin.com
philchanin@gmail.com

“My teenage son and I were padding a canoe in a small river that flowed out to the sea. In the late afternoon, our canoe got stuck on a huge sand bar. As it was starting to get dark, I completely freaked out: ‘Oh my God! We’re stuck! It’s getting dark and no one will find us!’

Meanwhile, my son surveyed the situation, and noticed a small anchor in the canoe. He pulled in up and threw it as far as he could. It stuck in the sand bar. He pulled our canoe to the anchor, and again threw it as far as he could. Again, it stuck in the sand bar. He picked it up a 3rd time, and threw it again. This time, as he pulled the canoe toward the anchor, we were able to get off the sand bar. We paddled back to where we had started.” (From a presentation I heard by psychologist Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.)

Dr. Borysenko told this story to illustrate the concepts of internal versus external locus of control. She said, “I was operating on the basis of external locus of control, meaning that we are victims and are controlled by external factors outside of our control. My son was operating on the basis of internal locus of control, meaning that he believed that he had the internal resources to master a difficult situation.”

An internal locus of control is the belief that you are the primary cause of your own successes and failures—meaning that your actions, choices, and efforts directly influence your life’s outcomes, rather than external forces such as luck or fate. People with this mindset take responsibility, feel empowered, and are often more motivated, leading to better health, achievement, and problem solving.

Key characteristics of internal locus of control include: 1) Agency: You see yourself as the agent controlling your life’s direction; 2) Responsibility: You take ownership of your results, whether good or bad; 3) Proactive: You focus on effort, learning, and changing what you can; and 4) Self-Efficacy: You believe your skills and persistence can overcome life’s challenges. An individual operating on the basis of internal locus of control might say, “I studied hard and I passed the test.” Someone operating on the basis of external locus of control might say, “I failed the test because it was unfairly difficult.”

Some of the benefits of operating on the basis of internal locus of control include: 1) Improved Well-Being: It is linked to greater happiness, less stress, and better physical health; 2) Higher Achievement: It is associated with greater career satisfaction, academic success, and goal achievement; and 3) Better Coping: One feels more in control during challenging times and one tends to set healthier boundaries. Locus of control is on a spectrum, and is not typically an all-or-nothing trait; most people fall somewhere in the middle, and it can shift depending on the situation. While an internal focus is generally beneficial, it’s also important to balance acknowledging one’s role with recognizing that sometimes strong external factors are at play.

Operating on the basis of internal locus of control, one believes that one’s actions shape the outcomes. For example, if someone has an internal locus of control and wants to start their own business, they likely believe that they can succeed and so they are motivated to take the necessary steps to create the business. The individual believes they are capable of success, and that they are also able to learn and grow from setbacks or failures.

People who have internal locus of control believe that the outcomes of their actions are the result of their own abilities. They believe that their hard work will lead them to obtain positive outcomes. People operating on the basis of external locus of control will tend to believe that their present circumstances are not the result of their own influence, decisions, or control, and that even their own actions are a result of external factors, such as fate, luck, or history, and they may believe that the world is too complex for them to be able to influence their success or failure.

The development of locus of control is associated with family style and resources and with experiences with effort leading to reward. Many internals have grown up in families that model typical internal beliefs; these families emphasized effort, education, responsibility, and thinking, and the parents typically gave their children rewards that they promised them. In contrast, externals have often been associated with lower socioeconomic status. Societies experiencing social unrest increase the expectancy of being out-of-control; thus, people in such societies become more externally focused.

Children in families where parents have been supportive and consistent in discipline tend to develop more internal locus of control. Parental warmth, supportiveness, and encouragement
seem to be essential for the development of internal locus of control. Locus of control tends to become more internal as children age into adolescence and adulthood, as they gain skills which give them more control over their environment.

During the 1970’s and 1980’s, some research correlated locus of control with the academic success of college students. Those who were more internally controlled believed that hard work and focus would result in successful academic progress, and they in fact performed better academically. Those students who were identified as more externally controlled (believing that their future depended more upon luck or fate) tended to have lower academic performance levels.

In summary, the signs of an internal locus of control include: 1) You take responsibility for your actions; 2) You don’t care too much about other’s opinions; 3) You believe that you can influence outcomes, that when you learn the right skills and put in the right work, you’re likely to succeed; 4) You don’t try to control others, instead you focus on what you can change (yourself); 5) When others mistreat you, you set healthy boundaries, and go back to paying attention to what you can change. People with a healthy locus of control are more successful overall. They’re more likely to achieve their goals, they’re physically healthier, they’re happier and more independent, and they’re more emotionally stable.