The purpose of the present study was to test assumptions derived from Nowicki and Duke that suggest an association among external control expectancies, nonverbal processing deficits, and emotional disturbances. Locus of control scales and a test of nonverbal decoding skills were completed by 20 emotionally disturbed and 20 nondisturbed subjects between the ages of 9 and 11 matched for age, sex, race, intelligence, and socioeconomic level. As predicted, it was found that an external locus of control and poorer performance in decoding voice tone and combined voice tone and facial expression were associated with emotional disturbance. Implications for teaching and remediation are discussed.
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