Chance locus of control predicts moral disengagement which decreases well-being

The Dark Core of personality: Individual’s expression of locus of control and spirituality

“…This is consistent with the notion that these individuals behave in a socially inadequate way, disregarding others and denying responsibility for their actions (Moshagen et al, 2018). The absence of responsibility may lead them to engage in more unethical and irrational behavior (Tsai et al, 2014) and to blame other people (Guo et al, 2021), superior forces, and destiny for events in their lives. One famous example is the widely known social experiment of Milgram (1963), in which participants were informed that they would not be held responsible for what was taking place in the experiment.…”

“Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students’ physical health, mental health and learning, a cross-sectional study including 917 students from eight universities in Germany”

“…During the current pandemic, concise timely and accurate health-related information (such as the local number of infections) and appropriate precautionary measures (including hand hygiene, wearing a face mask) were associated with lower psychological effects connected to the pandemic and lower levels of stress, anxiety and depression [ 44 ]. On the other hand, chance locus of control was a prediction of moral disengagement, which was connected with less positive emotions, more negative emotions, poorer mental wellbeing and poorer general health due to less prosocial engagement [ 50 ]. Tertiary education systems can add to the education level of their students and thus provide a feeling of safety and control, especially during times of increased uncertainty.…”

Internal locus of control and individuals' regret for normal vs. abnormal decisions

“…Fourthly, our findings are consistent with Njus and Brockway's (1999) arguments that it is wrong to assume that it is always beneficial to maintain a high internal locus of control than to maintain a low internal locus of control. Scholarly research has associated lower levels of internal locus of control with less desirable behaviors and consequences (e.g., Guo et al, 2021;Karaman & Watson, 2017;Moreira et al, 2020;Stewart & De George-Walker, 2014) and that higher levels of internal locus of control serve as a buffer to these negative outcomes (Koeske & Kirk, 1995;Krause & Stryker, 1984). Our results show that low perceptions of control were associated with higher buffering effects for bad decisions, at least when they are taken against the norm.…”

“…For instance, higher levels of internal locus of control are associated with more adherence to COVID-19 containment measures, such as wearing masks (Devereux et al, 2021), less moral disengagement from prosocial behaviors (Guo et al, 2021), and a decrease in performance in cognitive tasks after negative feedback (Hohnemann et al, 2022). On the other hand, people with higher levels of external locus of control have been frequently associated with less desirable outcomes: they self-handicap more (Stewart & De George-Walker, 2014), display fewer motivations towards achievements (Karaman & Watson, 2017), and are more likely to show decreased well-being (Guo et al, 2021), and to develop psychopathological symptoms after negative life events (Moreira et al, 2020). These negative associations have led many to assume that having an internal is better than having an external locus of control (Rotter, 1975).…”