Locus of Control, Schedule of Reinforcement, and the Attribution of Freedom in the Reinforcing Agent

Attributions of freedom and the probability of ingratiating to another were assessed in terms of the unpredictability of the reinforcement schedule used by the other and the locus of control of the observer using videotapes. Internal subjects viewing.a situation involving either 0%, 10%, 50%, 90% or 100% reinforcement saw more freedom when less reinforcement occurred. In contrast, external subjects saw more freedom in the unpredictable situations (10%, 50%, 90%) but saw little difference between the 0% and; 100% situations. The effect of variations in reinforcement strategy was investigated in a broader context, as well, using sixteen bi-polar trait adjectives. Several different trends were noted among the seven adjectives which showed statistical significance between reinforcement levels. These adjectives included: unpredictable , free , flexible , changeable , unsympathetic , inconsiderate , and ignorant . There were no significant effects for ingratiation, probably because of weaknesses in the assessment device