Relationships exist between PC and a number of other variables. These are
relevant for understanding PC and investigating it in the context of disability.
Theories relating to the constructs of self-efficacy, attribution, helplessness
and mood state wih be discussed.
There is a difference between behef in personal control (concerned with
outcome expectancies) and behavioural expectancies such as self efficacy
(Bandura 1977b, 1982). They are related but independent concepts. The
latter refers to a person's behef that they can engage in a specific behaviour
and this is not the same as internal behefs of PC. Self efficacy is concerned
with control of behaviour and PC with control over outcome and/or
reinforcements i.e. people with internal PC may not necessarily beheve that
they can carry out certain behaviours. Strecher et al (1986) identified
several variables which may exert an influence on self-efficacy behefs and
Performance accomplishment and vicarious experience are exanq)les of the
former and verbal persuasion and psychological state examples of the latter.
The theories of attribution (Kelley and Michela 1980, Harvey and Weary
1984) and social learning (Rotter 1954, Bandura 1977a) are associated with
PC and the dimension of time. Attribution theory is concerned with causes
that have been attributed to outcomes or events that have occurred in the
past whilst social learning theory focuses on behefs about the future. An
attribution style questionnaire (ASQ) has been devised (Peterson et al 1982)
where respondents are asked to attribute causes to hypothetical events. It
has been suggested that responses to the ASQ may correlate with
expectancies for future perceived control (Taylor et al 1984b).
The concept of PC must be distinguished from that of motivational control
(WaUston et al 1983, Smith et al 1984). Perceived control should not be
confused with preference or responsibihty for control i.e. people who feel
that they have control may not actually want control nor may they feel
responsible for certain behaviours or states.
Another concept related to PC is learned helplessness. In studies of learned
helplessness in hospitahsed patients, long speUs of hospitahsation appear to
result in a relinquishing of control and an adoption of learned helplessness
(Raps et al 1982). Helplessness has been dehned as "a psychological state
that results when events are uncontrohable" (Sehgman 1975). Animal
experiments demonstrated that if exposed to aversive stimuh that cannot be
controhed, then a situation of helplessness develops and this generahses to
other types of situations and results in subjects acting in a passive or helpless
Hiroto (1974) repeated similar experiments in humans and his results
supported those of animal work. Psychology students were subjected to
aversive noise under conditions of uncontrollability. In subsequent
situations where conditions were repeated, these students responded
passively to the noise, whereas students who had not previously experienced
the aversive stimuli made attempts to avoid the noise. It may be deduced
from such work that those exposed to repeated episodes of uncontrollabdity
will react in a passive way to similar events later on and that those who do
not encounter such situations take measures to adapt to their circumstances
(Sehgman 1975) Another important consideration is that an absence in
behef in control and not just an event of uncontroUabihty can lead to the
acquisition of learned helplessness (Glass and Singer 1972). This suggests
that learned helplessness could result under conditions of perceived
uncontrohabihty.
Several researchers have examined the relationship between the variables of
PC and anxiety (Butterfield 1964, Mandler and Watson 1966, Watson
1967). The general conclusions reached have been that in the first instance
scales measuring PC and those measuring anxiety are in fact measuring two
different constructs and in the second instance a correlation appears to exist
between these two variables. Relationships have been reported between
those with greater extemahty and debihtating anxiety (Butterfield 1964,
Finch and Nelson 1974). In stressful circumstances, those with internal
behefs tend to experience less anxiety than those who feel that the outcome
is beyond their control (Mandler and Watson 1966). An alternate
hypothesis has also been suggested in that those who normahy have external
behefs may demonstrate higher levels of anxiety if they find themselves in a
stressful situation that they feel is within their control (Bowers 1968,
has not been possible to differentiate between PC occurring as a fimction of
psychological disturbances or whether external behefs accompany a
predisposition to psychological difficulties.
There is a lack of consensus regarding correlations between external behefs
and depression. One suggestion is that those who beheve in chance wih be
less hkely to become depressed in the face of negative hfe events than say
individuals who have an internal PC. In other words, it is those who beheve
in their own control and influence who may experience guilt and ultimately
depression because there is a feeling of loss of control or helplessness
(Phares 1972). This hypothesis has been supported by several studies
(Naditch et al 1975, Lefcourt 1976, Moyal 1977). However those with
depression have reported (Strickland 1978) a feeling of powerlessness, loss
of control and helplessness about influencing future events, ah of which are
similar to external behefs. Depression is a multidimensional disorder and
different facets of depression (reactive depression, depressed mood and
manic depression) may be differentiahy related to internal/external behefs.
This appears to be reflected in the work of Strickland and Hale (1975) who
reported stronger associations between external PC and chronic depression
than between external PC and ten^orary depressed mood states.