Deck 14: Mini-Theories: Locus of Control, Sensation Seeking, Learned Helplessness, Optimismpessimism, Positive Psychology, Happiness and Success

Question 1

Describe the racial, social class, and cultural differences found in research on internal versus external locus of control.

Answer 1

Differences in people with internal versus external locus of control
Racial difference
• Similar to Blacks born in AM continent, native residents of AF continent exhibited a higher external locus of control compared to Whites born in AM continent.
• Black adolescents in B country displayed higher external locus of control compared to White adolescents in US country. However, teens in both countries, from families that were economically well off, displayed higher internal control than did teens that belonged to families that were socially and economically poorer.
Cultural differences
• AM continent cultures are known to emphasize independence and individualism, while AS continent culture is known to emphasize communal living and interdependence. For people in AS continent, success is a product of external factors and defined by the society. In general, people from AS continent displayed higher external control than those from AM continent. This could be due to the cultural beliefs prevalent in these nations.
• The orientation of locus of control can be influenced by the societal set up one adopts. People from AS continent tend to become more internally oriented, as they come more in contact with people from AM continent. For example, C country residents of HK country exhibited a higher external locus of control compared to A country residents of C country heritage, and A country residents of C country heritage were more externally oriented than A country residents from E continent. (C country, HK country, E continent and A country are progressively individualistic in that order).
• SA country college students displayed a significantly higher internal locus of control compared to college students from L country, establishing the existence of a cultural difference in locus of control between an individualistic (SA country) and a collectivist culture (L country).
Differences in social class
• Among workers in C country and athletes in S country, those who exhibited high internal orientation were able to adjust to change more easily. Such people also exhibited better mental abilities than those who were externally oriented.
• High internal locus of control at work has also been shown to positively affect job satisfaction and commitment to tasks assigned. Such people were generally satisfied with their lives.
• High internal locus of control people exhibited low anxiety and were less likely to become alcoholics.
• A study on nurses in G country demonstrated that people with higher internal orientation were better at managing stress.
• Among students in G country (with a family-oriented and highly protective culture) who were leaving home for the first time, those who scored high in internal control of locus dealt better with emotional and social struggles of leaving home than those who were externally orientated.
• In T country, first-year college students who scored high in external locus of control displayed far more indecisiveness and hesitance in new situations compared to those who were internally orientated.

Question 2

In what ways do the personalities of people who score high in subjective well-being differ from those who score low?

Answer 2

Difference between the people who score high and low in subjective well-being:
According to psychologists, the happy person is labeled under subjective well-being. They are people whose life is being satisfied with the things possessed by them. They live happily with what they have. They tend to be optimistic under all the situations.
Optimistic people have a positive effect towards all their approaches. They feel that money cannot buy happiness but the lack of money leads to unhappiness. Hence, optimistic people seek for adequate funds to run their family and be happy. However, the funds are not sufficient; but they are adequate to run the family.
In addition, a research shows that people who earn more are happier when compared to the people who earn less. The people who score more tend to be happy at all the times whereas the people who score low in subjective well-being are the ones who may lack happiness in their lives.
It is better for the people who score low to become positive and score more in subjective wellbeing to lead a happy life.
It is found that the people who score high in subjective well-being have parents who look after them and take proper care in their future. This relationship is found to be stronger and healthier in girls when compared to boys.

Question 3

Discuss the differences in physical health between internal locus of control and external locus of control people.

Answer 3

Differences in physical health between internal and external locus of control people
Internally oriented people have been shown to be physically more healthy than those who are externally oriented. Following are some research statistics:
• People who are internally oriented suffer less from hypertension and are consequently less prone to heart attacks.
• It has been shown that people with internal locus of control cooperate well with the hospital personnel, and therefore receive better treatment and are able to recover sooner and leave the hospital earlier than patients who are externally oriented.
• A study performed on patients recovering from coronary artery bypass graft, revealed that patients high in internal control recovered more quickly than those low in internal control.
• Internal locus of control people are usually more careful about their health and are more likely to take precautionary measures such as wearing seat belts, performing physical exercises, and abstaining from smoking.
• Studies in F, G, and SA country found that internally oriented people were less fussy about their health in general, and displayed fewer eating disorders. They also abstained from behaviors that might make them more vulnerable to HIV.
• Research in S country found that people who were uneducated, immigrants, and up to a third of aged people, scored low in internal locus of control.
Together, the data suggests that internal locus of control people are meticulous in taking care of their physical health.

Question 4

Give examples of how geography, motivations and goals, and Internet use can affect subjective well-being.

Question 5

How do the concepts of locus of control and selfefficacy differ? In what ways are they similar?

Question 6

Describe the three components or types of happiness, according to Seligman. Which one corresponds most closely to Maslow's concept of self-actualization?

Question 7

Define sensation seeking and describe its four components.

Question 8

How does Seligman's concept of flourishing differ from his earlier concept of subjective well-being?

Question 9

How does Zuckerman distinguish between good and bad sensation seeking? Which type are you?

Question 10

What does research show about differences in sensation seeking as a function of age, gender, culture, and race?

Question 11

How do people high in sensation seeking differ from people low in sensation seeking in terms of personality and cognitive functioning?

Question 12

Give examples of ways in which high sensation seekers behave differently from low sensation seekers.

Question 13

Describe the occupational interests and political attitudes of high sensation seekers.

Question 14

Discuss the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining sensation seeking.

Question 15

Define learned helplessness and describe Seligman's early research with dogs.

Question 16

Describe how the global and the limited-domain approaches to personality differ from one another.

Question 17

How can learned helplessness affect physical health? How does it relate to depression?

Question 18

How do internal and external locus of control people differ in terms of their views of the source of the reinforcements they receive?

Question 19

Distinguish between optimistic and pessimistic explanatory styles. How can they affect health?

Question 20

Give examples of how internal locus of control people behave differently from external locus of control people.

Question 21

Explain how learned helplessness can develop in childhood.

Question 22

If external locus of control people learned that a tornado was approaching, would they be likely to believe there was nothing they could do about their situation, or would they be likely to take some action to protect themselves, their family, and their property? Why?

Question 23

Discuss the similarities and differences between Seligman's contemporary version of positive psychology and the earlier humanistic psychology of Maslow and Rogers.

Question 24

What parental behaviors foster a child's internal locus of control?

Question 25

Describe the effect on subjective well-being of each of these factors: financial status, attractiveness, health, race, and culture.