Replication and Extension of Collins' Locus of Control Scale

Leadership style and group effectiveness have been shown to be related to individual beliefs concerning the attribution of control of events. The individual believes that events are controlled either externally or by internal, personal forces. The research reported here involves measurement of the basic belief patterns and the investigation of the relationships with leadership style and group effectiveness. Survey instruments, including the Rotter Internal-External (I-E) scale, the Mach IV Machiavellian scale, Budner's Intolerance of Ambiguity scale, Fiedler's Least-Preferred Co-worker scale, and the Military Leadership Behavior Scale, were administered to 275 Special Forces Reserves during their 2-week active duty training period. Analysis of the results showed the factor structure of the Rotter I-E scale to be similar to the original, supporting the common idea of internal-external locus of behavioral control and, further, that locus of control beliefs are multidimensional. The concept of the I-E scale is sound and moderately useful in understanding reward expectations of soldiers and improving effectiveness of military units.