The relationship of internal-external control to work motivation and performance

Internal-external control represents the extent to which a person perceives him-self to control the events around him. Internality (perception of much con-trol) was hypothesized to be positively related to the following: (a) the con-cept of instrumentality from expectancy theory, (b) work motivation as measured by ratings and by expectancy theory measures, (c) job performance as measured by ratings, and (d) rank. Data were collected from naval personnel comprising 52 work groups of four each; ratings from their supervisors were also obtained. These hypotheses were confirmed at or beyond the.05 signifi-cance level. A multitrait-multirater matrix showed convergent but no dis-criminant validity for ratings by supervisors, peers, and the subjects themselves on the subjects ' job effort and performance. The Internal-External Scale (Rotter, 1966) measures a person's perception that the events which happen to him are contingent upon his behavior. An internal person essentially feels in control of the things which happen to him; an external person believes that the events in his life are for the most part beyond his in-fluence. Commonly used terms for designating the two ends of this continuum are the belief in skill and the belief in chance. Perceptions of Internal-External control (I-E), as measured by the I-E scale, have been related by many hundreds of studies to numerous variables in almost all areas o