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The Rotter Locus of Control Scale in 43 Countries: A Test of Cultural Relativity
Author(s) -
Smith Peter B.,
Trompenaars Fons,
Dugan Shaun
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
international journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1464-066X
pISSN - 0020-7594
DOI - 10.1080/00207599508246576
Subject(s) - locus of control , psychology , collectivism , parallels , social psychology , luck , individualism , hofstede's cultural dimensions theory , harmony (color) , epistemology , political science , operations management , philosophy , art , economics , visual arts , law
A databank of 9140 responses to the Rotter (1966) locus of control scale was analyzed, using multidimensional scaling techniques. Respondents were employees in business organizations in 43 countries. Three interpretable dimensions were identified. The first was interpreted in terms of Schwartz's (1992) dimensions of mastery over the environment versus harmony with the environment. It also correlated significantly with country means for internality. The second distinguished responses from countries identified by Hofstede (1980) as individualist and collectivist. The third referred principally to the role of luck and chance. Parallels with the results of Levenson (1981) and the implications of convergence with the results of cross‐cultural studies not based upon the concept of locus of control are discussed.