EFFECTS OF LOCUS OF CONTROL, TASK INSTRUCTIONS, AND BELIEF ON EXPECTANCY OF SUCCESS

Fifty-six undergraduates who scored either high or low on the internal-external locus of control scale volunteered for a card guessing experiment. These two groups of 28 each were divided evenly into skill or chance instruction subgroups. As expected, there was a significant interaction between locus of control and instruction on expectancy of success. However, this effect was carried only by Ss who believed the instructions, not by nonbelievers. When Ss were classified by locus of control and their reported belief in chance or skill involved in the task, externals who reported chance and internals who reported skill required more trials to extinction of expectancy of success. Analysis of results from a Belief Questionnaire indicated that most internals became nonbelievers sooner than did externals, and that congruence rather than incongruence between locus of control and Ss' belief caused Ss to retain their belief in the instructions. © 1978 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.