Patterns of Attribution of Control and Individual Psychosocial Competence

Abstract

This study examined the relationships among a variety of loci of control and individual psychosocial competence measures through nomothetic and idiographic methods. 133 congregation members drawn from 12 suburban congregations participated in the study. Correlational analyses pointed to considerable independence among the loci of control. However, through a cluster analysis, groups of members manifesting different patterns of attribution of control were identified. The patterns themselves were conceptually meaningful. Furthermore, members of the clusters held significantly different characteristics of psychosocial competence. Yet, as elements of the cluster, neither internal nor external loci themselves had consistently positive or negative implications for members' competence. Rather the significance of the loci appeared to lie in their configuration with each other. Thus, this study highlights the relevance of examining individual frameworks of causal attribution whose elements operate interactively as well as independently.