Testing the relationship of locus of control to different performance dimensions

Abstract

Using a sample of 146 bank tellers, this study tested the usefulness of locus of control for explaining initiative versus compliant performance. Based upon Spector's (1982) conceptual work, locus of control showed a negative relationship to initiative performance and a positive relationship to compliant performance. However, these results were only found using Spector's (1988) work locus of control measure and not with the Rotter (1966) meas'ure. Spector's work locus of control measure also explained Significant performance variance beyond controlled for individual and situational variables. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed. t ,

Work locus of control and its relationship to health and job satisfaction from a gender perspective

“…This claim is supported by studies, which have indicated that WLCS is a better predictor of work behavior than the generalized measure of locus of control (Blau, 1993;Orpen, 1992). WLCS has been used in several studies concerning e.g.…”

“…Furthermore, stressors seem to have less effect on well-being for individuals who have internal locus of control (Daniels & Guppy, 1994;Lu et al, 2000). Several studies have also revealed that internal WLC is positively related to different organizational outcomes such as motivation, job performance, job satisfaction, perception of organizational climate and organizational commitment (Blau, 1993;Furnham & Drakeley, 1993;Lu et al, 2000;Orpen, 1992;Ross, 1991). The results of Cvetanovski and Jex's study (1994) showed that unemployed people with internal locus of control were more satisfied with life and also felt better both psycho-logically and physically than externals.…”

“…Locus of control beliefs measured by the scale include rewards or outcomes such as promotions, salary increases and general career progress (Spector, 1988). Several studies have shown that there is an overlap between Rotter's and Spector's measures with correlations ranging between .49 and .63 (Blau, 1993;Cvetanovski & Jex, 1994;Spector, 1988).…”

“…When it comes to studies that have used Work locus of control scale (e.g. Blau, 1993;Orpen, 1992;Spector & O'Connell, 1994) the aspect of gender has not been a primary issue. Since earlier psychological research has often been characterized by androcentricity, as pointed out e.g.…”

“…WLCS has been used in several studies concerning e.g. different performance dimensions (Blau, 1993), unemployment (Cvetanovski & Jex, 1994), stress and well-being (Daniels & Guppy, 1994;Lu et al, 2000;Spector & O'Connell, 1994) and selection interviews (Silvester, AndersonGough, Anderson, & Mohamed, 2002).…”