Misconceptions and limitations of locus of control and the I-E scale

Since 1966, locus of control as measured by the I-E scale has been shown predictive of many different dependent variables in both health and nonhealth situations. In hundreds of articles, expectancies have been reported to mediate perceptual, cognitive, and motivational processes. However, in many other investigations, locus of control has failed to predict the dependent variable being studied. Therefore, it is clear there are limitations to the predictive power of the construct. In recent years published research highlighting these limitations has resulted in a decrease in research about locus of control and the use of the I-E scale. Yet many investigators do not know or perhaps choose to ignore the criticisms published in recent years. Nurses who are interested in locus of control are encouraged to understand the construct and the frequent misapplications of it which occur, to realize the limitations of the I-E scale when considering instrumentation, and to consider multidimensional attribution theory as more appropriate to understanding behavior than locus of control.