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Showing papers by "Boise State University published in 1974"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article found that internal-scoring college males tend to resist response extinction in the absence of a known extrinsic reinforcer, i.e., successful completion of the puzzle, and the product-moment correlation between scores on the I-E scale and response persistence was -.437 (P <.05).
Abstract: Rotter and Mulry (1965) reported that persons designated \"internal\" in locus of control took significantly longer than externals to make decisions and choices on skill-related tasks. Individuals with an internal orientation have also been described as more persistent in completing a complex but soluble puzzle (James, 1965). It is reasonable to expect internals to show greater response persistence than externals on a skill-related task in which there is no possibility for successful completion. The I-E scale of Rotter was administered to 24 Anglo male students (mean age, 20.1 yr.) enrolled in an introductory psychology course. The scale is keyed so that higher scores represent greater externality. The experimental task was introduced as an exercise in problem-solving ability which required Ss to assemble 12 parts of a wooden cube puzzle. One piece of the puzzle had been removed and another piece of a different shape substituted for it, making the task insoluble. The product-moment correlation between scores on the I-E scale and response persistence, i.e., the minutes spent working on the puzzle, was -.437 ( P < .05). A logarithmic transformation of the time measure did not appreciably change the value of the correlation. The overlapping linear variance between I-E scores and task persistence was almost 20%. This finding suggests that internal-scoring college males may tend to resist response extinction in the absence of a known extrinsic reinforcer, i.e., successful completion of the puzzle. This is in accord with previous research indicating that internals are more \"inner-directed\" and less influenced by environmental forces than externals (Cromwell, e t al., 1961 ).

2 citations