Editing Locus of control (section)

=={{anchor|Scales to measure locus of control}}Measuring scales==
The most widely used questionnaire to measure locus of control is the 23-item (plus six filler items), forced-choice scale of Rotter (1966).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/LC.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919142617/http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/LC.html | archive-date=2020-09-19 | title=Locus of Control }}</ref> However, this is not the only questionnaire; Bialer's (1961) 23-item scale for children predates Rotter's work. Also relevant to the locus-of-control scale are the Crandall Intellectual Ascription of Responsibility Scale (Crandall, 1965) and the Nowicki-Strickland Scale {{harv|Nowicki|Strickland| 1973}}. One of the earliest psychometric scales to assess locus of control (using a [[Likert scale|Likert]]-type scale, in contrast to the forced-choice alternative measure in Rotter's scale) was that devised by W. H. James for his unpublished doctoral dissertation, supervised by Rotter at Ohio State University; however, this remains unpublished.{{sfn|Lefcourt| 1976}}

Many measures of locus of control have appeared since Rotter's scale. These were reviewed by Furnham and Steele (1993) and include those related to [[health psychology]],<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1177/109019817800600107 | title=Development of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales | date=1978 | last1=Wallston | first1=Kenneth A. | last2=Strudler Wallston | first2=Barbara | last3=Devellis | first3=Robert | journal=Health Education Monographs | volume=6 | issue=2 | pages=160–170 | pmid=689890 | s2cid=42985147 }}</ref> [[industrial and organizational psychology]]<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1111/j.2044-8325.1988.tb00470.x | title=Development of the Work Locus of Control Scale | date=1988 | last1=Spector | first1=Paul E. | journal=Journal of Occupational Psychology | volume=61 | issue=4 | pages=335–340 }}</ref> and those specifically for children (such as the Stanford Preschool Internal-External Scale<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/h0036020 |title = Internal-external control and persistence: Validation and implications of the Stanford Preschool Internal-External Scale|journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume = 29|issue = 2|pages = 265–278|year = 1974|last1 = Mischel|first1 = Walter|last2 = Zeiss|first2 = Robert|last3 = Zeiss|first3 = Antonette}}</ref>{{sfn|Furnham|Steele|1993}} for three- to six-year-olds). Furnham and Steele (1993) cite data suggesting that the most reliable, valid questionnaire for adults is the Duttweiler scale. For a review of the health questionnaires cited by these authors, see "Applications" below.

The Duttweiler (1984) Internal Control Index (ICI) addresses perceived  problems with the Rotter scales, including their forced-choice format, susceptibility to [[social desirability]] and heterogeneity (as indicated by  [[factor analysis]]). She also notes that, while other scales existed in 1984 to measure locus of control, "they appear to be subject to many of the same problems".{{sfn|Duttweiler| 1984| p=211}} Unlike the forced-choice format used on Rotter's scale, Duttweiler's 28-item ICI uses a Likert-type scale in which people must state whether they would rarely, occasionally, sometimes, frequently or usually behave as specified in each of 28 statements. The ICI assess variables pertinent to internal locus: cognitive processing, autonomy, resistance to social influence, self-confidence and delay of [[gratification]]. A small (133 student-subject) validation study indicated that the scale had good internal consistency reliability (a [[Cronbach's alpha]] of 0.85).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Salmani Nodoushan |first1=M. A. |year=2012 |title=The impact of locus of control on language achievement |journal=International Journal of Language Studies |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=123–36 |url=https://works.bepress.com/nodushan/125/ }}</ref>