Cross-generational attributions concerning locus of control beliefs

Age differences and attributions of age differences in locus of control orientation were examined for college students and older adults. Self-ratings and ratings of the other group by sixty college students and ninety-seven older adults were measured using Rotter's locus of control items in a Likert format. Findings showed that both age groups misattributed levels of control orientation to the other group when compared to that group's self-ratings. Older adults endorsed more internal beliefs than did college students. College students viewed older adults as more external than older adults viewed themselves, while older adults viewed college students as more internal than students' self-ratings indicated. The common perception in gerontological literature that older adults are particularly external in their locus of control beliefs may represent an erroneous attribution rather than self-reported beliefs.