Locus of Control and Help-Seeking Behaviour
Rotter (1954) introduced the concept of locus of control as a part of individual
personality. Locus of control is whether or not an individual believes that he or she has
the personal resources to cope with a problem. The concept is used to classify people into
two categories, those with internal locus of control and those with external locus of
control. Individuals with a high internal locus of control believe that events result
primarily from their own behaviour and actions while those with a high external locus of
control believe that powerful others, fate, or chance primarily determine events (Rotter,
1954). Those with a high internal locus of control have better control of their behaviour
than those with a high external locus of control; they are more likely to assume that their
efforts will be successful. They are more active in seeking information and knowledge
concerning their situations (Rotter, 1975).
The locus of control concept has been applicable in many areas. Most famous application
has probably been in the area of health psychology. Maltby, Day and Macaskill (2007),
cite studies linking internal locus of control with improved physical health, mental health
and quality of life in people undergoing diverse conditions such as Human Immuno-
Deficiency Virus (HIV), diabetes, kidney disease and epilepsy. In industrial and
organisational psychology, it has been established that internals are more likely to take
action to change their jobs, rather than merely talk about occupational change, than
externals (Allen, Weeks & Moffat, 2005; cited in Maltby et al., 2007).
Other differences between internals and externals are in terms of their achievement
motivation, suggesting that internal locus of control is linked with higher levels of
achievements and less prone to stressing situations. On the other hand, due to them locating
control outside themselves, externals tend to feel they have less control over their fate and
hence more prone to stress. People with an external locus of control tend to be more stressed
and prone to clinical depression (Benassi, Sweeney & Dafour, 1988; cited in Maltby, et al,
2007). The type of family one grew in affects the orientation of a person in relation to
locus of control. Many internals have grown up with families of high socio-economic
status with members who typically emphasis internal beliefs such as effort, education,
responsibility and thinking. In contrast, externals are typically associated with lower
socio-economic status (Schneewind, 1995, as cited by Schultz & Schultz, 2005).
The type of society a person lives in also plays a role in moulding the type of locus of
control in a person as those from well-functioning societies are mostly internals unlike
those from societies experiencing social unrest who tend to be mostly externals
(Schneewind, 1995, as cited by Schultz & Schultz, 2005). This clearly shows the
importance of peaceful co-existence in any social set up to ensure that an internal locus of
control emerges. Through guidance and counselling, students can be assisted and be
made to understand how to handle challenging situations they encounter and in the long
run be able to handle situations appropriately and co-exist peacefully.
An individual‟s locus of control has also been noted as an important determinant of a
person‟s decision to seek counselling help. Internal or external locus of control would be
relevant to a person‟s belief in their ability to make changes in their relationship which
determine their adjustment in life. Fischer and Turner (1970) found that individuals with
internal locus of control had more favourable attitudes toward seeking professional help.
Similarly, Lefcourt (1991) and Davis (1996) concluded that individuals with an internal
locus of control made more use and benefitted more from social support systems than do
their external counterparts. This may be due to internals believing that something can be
done to solve an existing challenge and hence have the positive attitude, unlike the
externals who believe that the forces responsible for their problems are beyond them and
hence they are not in control of events.
However, Oladipo and Oyenuga (2013) observed contrary findings where by an external
locus of control was associated with high likelihood of seeking counselling help and
concluded that those people with an external locus of control are more likely to seek
counselling help than those with internal locus of control. This may be because internals
feel they are in charge and hence capable of getting their solutions hence no need to seek
help and externals on the other hand feeling there are not the
ones who caused the problems in the first instance and hence the external sources which
caused the problems should also be responsible for coming up with the solutions.
Therefore, the way a person views the origin of a challenge may make a person to seek or
not to seek help. This is because if one feels like it is of no use to look for help since the
situation is beyond his or her control, then such a person may end up not seeking help,
unlike the one who feels that something can be done to solve a problem.
