Control belief
The belief in control is a term from psychology that arose in connection with behavioristic reinforcement plans and was introduced by Rotter in 1966 on the basis of his attribution theory. The construct refers to the extent to which a subject believes that the occurrence of an event is dependent on their own behavior, i.e. whether the place of control is inside or outside the individual (English: internal vs. external locus of control ). The term “internal versus external control of reinforcement” has meanwhile been shortened in German-speaking countries to the term “control conviction”.
Internal and external control
An internal control belief exists when an individual perceives a positive or negative event as a consequence of their own behavior, while an external control belief exists when this event is perceived as independent of their own behavior, i.e. H. as out of your own control. According to the current state of research, a distinction is made between social-external control beliefs (control by other people) and fatalistic-external control beliefs (control by fate, luck / bad luck, chance ...).
Perception plays a major role here: Within this construct, it is irrelevant whether an event is actually under one's own control or not, but only whether the individual believes it. Rotter (1975) points out that this belief should not be understood as a dichotomous , but rather as a continuum. In close connection with the construct of the belief in control, this depends on the causal attribution .
Belief in control and self-efficacy
In connection with “conviction of control” it is often equated with the term “self-efficacy” or “ self-efficacy expectation ”. This is wrong in a cognitive paradigm , because there is a difference between the conviction that an event can be brought about in some way (= control conviction ) and the assumption that one is the subject who can bring about an event (= expectation of self-efficacy).
It is therefore possible that a subject has an ( internal ) belief in control, but no self-efficacy and, knowing this, no expectation of self-efficacy. However, the reverse is inconceivable: a subject who is convinced that a certain event cannot be controlled in any way will not assume that it can bring about this itself.
Case study (s):
- Person A believes that it is impossible to pass a certain door because the lock is defective: (external) conviction of control, since no one is able to open the lock. (The question of self-efficacy is therefore unnecessary)
- Person B believes that the door can be opened very well, but that she herself does not have the right key: (internal) control conviction “In principle, the door can be opened!”, But no expectation of self-efficacy.
- Person C believes that the door can be opened and that he himself has the appropriate key: there is both (internal) control and self-efficacy expectation.
- Person D believes that their key fits, but thinks that the lock is defective: (external) conviction of control. (The question of the expectation of self-efficacy is not necessary here either).
Only person C will act directly, since he has both internal control beliefs and self-efficacy expectations. Person B could try to get someone else to act. Person A and D will not attempt to pass through the door because they generally assume that no behavior can open the door: (external) conviction of control.
Above all, it should be pointed out that these are internal / mental processes that do not have to agree with reality in any way, but still guide the actions of individuals. Anyone who assumes that a certain door is defective will not use it, even if the caretaker has long since replaced the lock.
A typical thought that addresses a non-existent belief in control would be: “That doesn't help. It's pointless. You can't do anything about that. ”Lack of self-efficacy expectation:“ I can't do that. I don't know how to do it. I won't make it (but others may) ”.
| Control belief type | Control belief
'Is that even feasible?' -Lock- |
Self-efficacy expectation
'Is anyone even able? -Key- |
Action of the individual
'Try or not?' -open up / idleness |
|---|---|---|---|
| external K.Ü. A. | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| external K.Ü. B. | ❌ | ✅ + 'I' | ❌ |
| Internal K.Ü. C. | ✅ | ✅ + 'Not-me' | jn. Move to action |
| Internal K.Ü. D. | ✅ | ✅ + 'I' | ✅ |
Control belief and health
The belief in control is related to maintaining health, recovery after (including serious) illnesses (such as a spinal cord injury ), experience of stress and mortality , with internal beliefs in control correlating with positive developments .
See also
- Attribution theories , attribution errors
- Learned helplessness
- Optimism , pessimism
- Self-determination theory (SDT): causal attribution and behavior quality
literature
- JB Rotter: Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. In: Psychological Monographs. 33 (1), 1966, pp. 300-303.
- JB Rotter: Some problems and misconceptions related to the construct of internal versus external control of reinforcement. In: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 43, 1975, pp. 56-67.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ L. Vocaturo: Psychological Adjustment to Spinal Cord Injury. In: Sue Ann Sisto, Erica Druin, Martha Macht Sliwinski (eds.): Spinal cord injuries. Management and rehabilitation. Mosby, St. Louis, Mo, London, 2009, ISBN 978-0-323-00699-6 , p. 110.
- ↑ JR Averill: Personal control over aversive stimuli and its relationship to stress. In: Psychological Bulletin . 80, 1973, pp. 286-303.
- ↑ JM Burger: Desire for control: Personality, social, and clinical perspectives. Plenum, New York 1992, ISBN 0-306-44072-5 .
- ^ J. Rodin: Aging and health: Effects of the sense of control. In: Science. 233, 1986, pp. 1271-1276.