Several American studies have reported a correlation between superior academic achievement and internal locus of control. This internality-achievement relationship has been interpreted in light of contemporary changes in American education. In this study, the internality-achievement relationship is examined in the highly traditional educational system of Sri Lanka. Results demonstrated that the American findings generalize to the classroom environment in Sri Lanka. It is suggested that the American results may be unrelated to modern educational changes-that, instead, they are a consequence of an attribution process which may possess cross-cultural generality.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BINDER, D. , J. JONES, and R. STORWIG (1970) "Nonintellective self-report variables as predictors of scholastic achievement."J. of Educ. Research63: 364-366.
2.
CLIFFORD, M. M. (1976) "A revised measure of locus of control."Child Study J.6: 85-90.
3.
CLIFFORD, M. M. and T. A. CLEARY (1972) "The relationship between children's academic performance and achievement accountability."Child Development43: 647-655.
4.
CRANDALL, V. C. , W. KATKOVSKY, and V. J. CRANDALL (1965) "Children's beliefs in their own control of reinforcements in intellectual-academic achievement settings."Child Development36: 91-109.
5.
JONES, E. E. and L. L. ZOPPEL (1979) "Personality differences among blacks in Jamaica and the United States."J. of Cross-Cultural Psychology10: 435-456.
6.
LESSING, E. E. (1969) "Racial differences in indices of ego functioning relevant to academic achievement."J. of Genetic Psychology115: 153-167.
7.
WEINER, B. , I. FRIEZE, A. KUKLA, L. REED, S. REST, and R. M. ROSENBAUM (1972) "Perceiving the causes of success and failure," in E. Joneset al. (eds.) Attribution: Perceiving the Causes of Behavior. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
