Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

4-25-2025

Keywords

competency-based control, control beliefs, locus of control, perceived competency, self-determined control, social cognitive theory

Disciplines

Developmental Psychology

Abstract

Through early experiences, people develop a growing sense of what they can control. One of the first ways researchers began to examine control was to define the degree to which an individual believes control is self-determined (i.e., internal locus of control) or not (i.e., external locus of control). An internal locus of control has traditionally been considered the “favored” profile, being associated with low levels of depression and other common psychopathology. A more modern view of locus of control suggests that a balance between both internal and external loci of control may foster the most adaptive outlook, and that it may be more important to have a realistic sense of control, rather than overwhelmingly internal or external one (Schwarzer, 2014). For example, clinicians may encounter self-assured, confident persons who have recently suffered a traumatic event and must adjust their usual view of control to become more external to avoid pathological grief or self-blame

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