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Why Do We Have High External Locus Of Control Essay

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Why Do We Have High External Locus Of Control Essay
How much control do we truly have over our own life? Are we without control and left at the whim of others, luck, or a higher power? Or can we take control of our fate and go down the path we desire? Our locus of control is the extent at which we believe we have power over events in our lives (Fournier, 2010). People may range from low to high; those who feel as though they are in control have high internal locus of control while those who believe that events occur due to an external force have high external locus of control.
The amount of control a person perceives themselves as having can greatly affect how they act and rationalize things. If a person with a high internal locus of control fails an exam, he or she would think it was because they did not study enough and would therefore make plans to study harder in the future- because they believe their actions have a …show more content…
A person with a high external locus of control would think he or she failed an exam perhaps due to bad luck, they would hope that next time they would be lucky and ace their next exam. But it may not always be positive to have a high internal locus of control; for example, if a person with a high internal locus of control were to be mugged, he or she may believe it was somehow a fault of their own- perhaps they would think they were not careful or alert enough- instead of seeing it as an unfortunate event that occurs to random people.
My locus of control score is 53, putting me in the middle between high internal and high external. According to my results, I have a ‘mixed attribution style when it comes to success’ (Queendom's tests by category, n.d.). I agree with this assessment; while I do believe that we as people have control over our own actions and how we perceive things, I also think that there are certain situations that occur that are out of our control. For
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