It is widely accepted that Japanese, compared to Americans, commit fewer criminal and other forms of deviant acts. However, there is evidence that Japanese students have an unusually high prevalence of bullying. In the current study, we develop a rationale for predicting that Japanese students, relative to Americans, should be oriented more…

Integrating more than 40 years of studies on locus of control (LOC), this meta-analysis investigated whether (a) the magnitude of the relationship between LOC and psychological symptoms differed among cultures with distinct individualist orientations and (b) depression and anxiety symptoms yielded different patterns of cultural findings with LOC.…

The goal of the current study was to compare diathesis-stress and transactional models of cognitive vulnerability to depression in samples of Canadian (n = 118) and Chinese (n = 405) adolescents. We utilized a six-month multi-wave, longitudinal design in order to examine whether (a) perceived control moderated the association between the…

Young adults in Canada (N = 161) and South Korea (N = 165) rated either themselves or typical others at target ages 25, 45, and 65 years. In both countries, poorer memory was anticipated with each increase in age on all 3 memory belief factors: capacity, change, and locus. Both groups demonstrated a self-protective bias about age-related decline,…

American women softball players were significantly more internally oriented than were their Dutch counterparts. (MM)

Locus of control (LOC) is a personality variable shown to possess potential explanatory power in the study of ethical decision making. There have been, however, diverse results reported in the literature. Whenever differences on this variable are indicated by the research, individuals with an Internal LOC report the more ethical responses. This…

This study examined the trajectories of delinquency among Puerto Rican children and adolescents in two cultural contexts. Relying on data from the Boricua Youth Study, a longitudinal study of children and youth from Bronx, New York, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, a group-based trajectory procedure estimated the number of delinquency trajectories,…

Social scientists have only recently begun to explore students' conceptions of their world and the relationship of these conceptions to their success in school. In particular, investigators have found that students who perceive themselves to be more in control of their environment are more successful in school than are students who feel less in…

A study with 342 Nepalese college students suggests the structure of learning processes is similar for Nepalese, Australian, and Filipino students. Internal locus of control also appears to be a factor in adoption of learning strategies. Differences between secondary and college students and between Nepalese and Australian students are discussed.…

The effect of political-cultural-historical orientations on stress-buffering moderator variables on 380 American and Polish college students was examined. Internal locus of control buffered stress among Americans; however, the expected stress-buffering power of social support among the Poles, who evidenced external locus of control, did not…

Internal-external (I-E) locus of control responses and patterns of word association responses were examined among Japanese and American students. The study attempted to place culturally different I-E responses in context by examining superordinate or background cultural-linguistic characteristics via word associations. (Author/APM)

Studies perceptions of causal attributions pertinent to success and failure in two social class groups from Belgium, West Germany, India, South Korea, and England. Found high agreement among the two social classes as well as among four of the nations, but Indians rated all causes as more external, variable, and uncontrollable. (FMW)

Two studies compared primary and secondary control beliefs of adolescents living in modern cultures (Germans, North Americans, Jewish Israelis) with those of adolescents in cultures undergoing a transition to modernity (Malaysians, Israeli Druzes). Found that adolescents from transitional cultures endorsed secondary control beliefs to a greater…

Investigates the locus of control orientation of Fijians and Fiji-Indians and examines its influence on academic performance. States that locus of control, a culturally influenced factor, is one variable underlying the disparity in achievement between the two groups. (CMG)

The possible relationship between a teacher's or individual's position on the Transmission-Interpretation dimension, locus of control, and culture was examined. A pilot study with Malaysian and United Kingdom undergraduates suggests that promoting particular methodologies may be inappropriate and ineffective. Sample questionnaire items are…