title: Locus of control and behavior in treatment groups.
abstract: Studied the Rotter Locus of Control scale for effective prediction of behavior in small groups. Subjects were 205 male VA Hospital patients participating in self-directed groups who completed the AGCT, Psychological and Somatic Symptom Scales, and Rotter's I-E measure of locus of control. Group behavior was measured through sociometry and a Group Member Evaluation form. Three hypotheses were not supported: (a) Persons scoring high in the direction of internal control (internals) will be more likely to act to influence their social environment; (b) internals will be more active than externals in gathering and processing information in group discussions, and (c) internals will be more self-directed and less susceptible to being influenced by others. Two hypotheses were supported: (a) externals will express more somatic and psychological complaints than internals, and (b) externals will be perceived as behaving more defensively than internals. In contrast, intelligence was correlated with a large number of group process measures. Locus of control and intelligence measures predict different kinds of behavior in groups.
mesh_terms: D000275:Adjustment Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D012919:Social Behavior