Describe the findings of three research studies on how the locus of control varies with mental health differences
What will be an ideal response?
ANS: Students' answers will vary.
According to Owen, 2006; Schmitz, Neumann, & Oppermann, 2000, people high in internal locus of control are less likely to have emotional problems or to become alcoholics. They also cope better with stress, as was demonstrated in a study of nurses in Germany. Those who reported higher levels of work-related stress and burnout scored higher in external locus of control than those less bothered by stress and burnout.
Other research among diverse populations—including pregnant women, female prisoners, and police officers—found that those high in external control are more prone to fantasies, anxiety, depression, fear of death on the job (police), psychotic episodes, and hopelessness. They were also more likely to become victims of cyberbullying than those high in internal control.
According to Leontopoulou, 2006, college students in Greece, a family-oriented and highly protective culture, were followed as they dealt with the social and emotional challenges of leaving home, many for the first time. Students who scored high in internal control adjusted more readily than those high in external control.
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Culturally disapproved behaviors in the past were often given psychological labels. The so-called "mental disorder" that led one to seek a more democratic society was known as
a. anarchia. b. nymphomania. c. self-defeating personality. d. drapetomania.
Even though John has seen other people get into car accidents, he does not believe that such an accident will ever happen to himself. John's perception of personal invulnerability is best considered to be an example of:
a. shared negotiation b. a personal fable c. conventional moral reasoning d. the imaginary audience
The social learning perspective emphasizes
a. constancy in personality. b. change in personality. c. school and peer influences on personality, but not family influences. d. parental influences but not peer influences.
There is little relationship between an eyewitness' accuracy and his or her confidence.
a. true b. false