![]() ![]() ![]() With conceptual links to both motivation and self-control, locus of control is also an increasingly important construct for understanding a wide range of economic decisions. In the intervening years, locus of control has become one of the most frequently studied concepts in psychology (Rotter 1990 Lefcourt 1992). ![]() As individuals differ in the reinforcement that they have received in the past, Rotter argued that they will also differ in the degree to which they generally attribute reinforcement to their own actions and that these beliefs regarding the internal versus external nature of reinforcement constituted a personality trait (Rotter 1966). The anticipation of future reinforcement is increased more, however, when individuals believe that the current reinforcement is contingent upon their own behavior than when they do not. In his seminal work, Rotter ( 1954) proposed a theory of learning in which the reinforcement (i.e., reward or punishment) of a behavior strengthens individuals’ expectancy (expectation) that this particular behavior will be reinforced in the future. The concept of locus of control emerged out of social learning theory more than 50 years ago. Finally, conclusions and directions for future research are outlined in Section 6. The broader implications of these relationships for public policy are discussed in Section 5. Section 4 pays careful attention to what we know about three potential mechanisms – human capital investments, hiring decisions, and optimal incentive contracts – through which locus of control might operate. In Section 3, the relationship between locus of control and labor market success is summarized. This review begins with a discussion of the conceptual origins of locus of control, including its relationship to related concepts such as self-efficacy, motivation, and self-control (see Section 2). Finally, as one component of self-control more generally, locus of control is also relevant for understanding the types of incentive contracts that firms offer their workers. Research in organizational sciences demonstrates that the decisions a senior manager makes are driven in part by his or her locus of control, and there is the potential for locus of control to become an important screening device in the hiring process. In particular, investments in education, health, self-employment, and job search have all been linked to individuals’ beliefs about the extent to which they control life’s outcomes. Having an internal locus of control has a demonstrable link with labor market success and appears to be central to many of the human capital investment decisions which consume the attention of labor economists. Nonetheless, locus of control has increasingly come to be regarded as one of the core concepts in many fields of applied economics, including labor economics. 2000) and self-control (Rosenbaum 1980).Įconomists have been much slower than psychologists to turn to locus of control as a means of understanding human behavior. 2 Perceptions of control have long had a prominent place in psychology, with psychologists arguing that an individual’s belief that his or her actions will lead to the desired outcome is fundamental to both motivation (i.e., effort) (Bandura 1986, 1989 Skinner 1996 Goldsmith et al. Those believing that life’s outcomes are due to their own efforts have an internal locus of control, while those believing that outcomes are due to external factors (e.g., luck) have an external locus of control. 1 Locus of control is perhaps best described as “a generalized attitude, belief, or expectancy regarding the nature of the causal relationship between one’s own behavior and its consequences” (Rotter 1966 p.2). The objective of this paper is to synthesize the emerging research on one non-cognitive skill: locus of control. The result has been a more profound understanding of the way that labor markets work and a more nuanced view of what it takes to be successful. – often have predictive power in wage equations has evolved into a considered analysis of the mechanisms through which non-cognitive skills impact worker and firm decisions in general. What began as a simple recognition that non-cognitive skills – for example, personality traits, perseverance, locus of control, self-efficacy, self-esteem, social skills, etc. One of the most exciting developments in labor economics over the past decade has been the reframing of standard theoretical and empirical models to accommodate the role of non-cognitive skills in driving labor market outcomes. ![]()
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