The effects of locus of control and skill-chance incentives on performance at three developmental levels.

The study examined the relationship between locus of control orientation, age, trial blocks, and instructions as these variables effected performance outcomes. Sixty male subjects from each of grades four, seven, and ten were selected for their extreme scores on the CNSIE. Thirty internal locus of control subjects and thirty external locus of control subjects were further randomly assigned to one of three instruction conditions of skill, chance, or control. The subjects were read one of the instructions and immediately administered fifteen, one-minute trials of a number cancellation task. For data analysis, five, one-minute trials were combined to form a single trial block. Thus, three trial blocks were used in the statistical analysis. The hypotheses were: (1) significant differences were predicted in the number of digits canceled by the skill, the chance, and the neutral instructions groups; (2) significant differences were predicted in the number of digits canceled for the different grade levels; (3) significant differences were predicted in the number of digits canceled with each successive trial block; and (4) significantly greater differences were predicted in the number of digits canceled by internal rather than external locus of control groups. The second and third hypotheses were accepted, while the first and fourth were rejected. However, a significant interaction between locus of control and trial blocks gave support for the emergence of locus of control differences with increased time on task. This finding was interpreted as support for Rotter's theory which examines generalized expectancy versus specific expectancy in predicting behavioral outcomes. Suggestions for further study were given