Internal-external control, power position, and satisfaction in task-oriented groups.

Abstract

On the basis of a conceptualized congruency between expected locus of control and preference for locus of control in a given situation, it was hypothesized that in a task-oriented communication network, satisfaction with power position would be determined by the interaction of the personality dimension of internal-external control and the actual degree of power possessed. This hypothesis was tested via an experimental design in which 52 undergraduates, whose goal was to complete a group task with maximum efficiency, were led to believe that they possessed either high or low power in a triadic communication network. All Ss had completed Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale. Ss' responses to a postexperimental questionnaire supported the hypothesis for males but not for females. Results support the conceptualized relation between expected locus of control and preferred locus of control. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)