Relationship between Locus of Control and Optimism among Students - Essay Example

2003). People with an external locus appear to be prone to a variety of symptoms of stress including emotional distress, job dissatisfaction, facing problems in studying, or low self esteem etc. There are some studies which have suggested moderated effects of locus of control. According to Hurrell and Murphy (1991) external locus of control is particularly vulnerable to stress symptoms due to frequent or severe negative life events. However, this evidence is rather mixed. The concept of locus of control is helpful in identifying various questions 'whether the results of people's actions are the direct/indirect reflection of what they do, that is, internal control orientation Or are they dependent on events that are beyond their control i.e. external control orientation.

The study of Locus of control would offer valuable contributions and theories that would further help in understanding and analyzing academic persistence as well as motivation. According to Strain 1993, there mare many identifying of locus of control as an important motivational factor, research has revealed little about the complex relationship between student's motivational behavior and persistence in college. While another study shows that individuals with internal locus of control are believed to be mentally more aware, able, better, equipped for learning, and highly motivated as compared to those with external locus of control (Stone and Jackson, 1975).

The study of locus of control - both internal as well as external - was also found to provide various valuable evidence on the behavior and approach of individuals studied in terms of their reactions to marketing approaches where the factor of luck was involved *Miyazaki, Anthonym and Sprott, 2001). It was found that individuals with internal orientation were more vulnerable to ideas of luck than those with an external orientation. According to Tosi and colleagues (2000) internal control is often correlated with better and more efficient work control in terms of adjusting to work environment, terms off satisfaction, coping with stress as well as level of involvement in one's job while those with external locus of control might exhibit a highly negative approach towards task or jobs that require independent action or decision making.

A deeper analysis of such negativity or pessimistic behavior was more deeply examined by Seligman and Martin (1990). According to the authors, there is a strong link between pessimism and depression, and the negative acts or behavior is most often the result of learned helplessness. In researching this area, they criticize academics for focusing too much on causes for pessimism and not enough on optimism. They also state that in the last three decades of the 20th century journals published 46,000 psychological papers on depression and only 400 on joy.

Michael, E. and Charles. S. C. (1986) studied that personal optimism correlates strongly withself-esteem, psychological well-being, and with physical and mental health. While the study of pessimism is considered parallel to the study ofdepression, psychologists trace pessimistic attitudes