Comparison of external and internal individuals to others in an academic setting

A relation between locus of control (LOC) and academic social comparison may exist once personal ability is jeopardized on a task central to a person’s identity. LOC would likely be correlated with factors integral to personal identity. The objective is to discover if such a relationship exists amongst undergraduate students. Participants were randomly distributed into 4 different groups based on academic feedback (class average and individual grade, both rated as either high or low). Participants completed half of Levenson’s (1974) and half of Rotter’s (1966) LOC scale and asked to compose a short, general essay. Participants later received their feedback and completed the second half of both loci of control scales. Feedback that the class received a high average but a low personal grade resulted in a trend from internal LOC to more external, while feedback for low average, high personal grade resulted in a trend from external to internal.