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Author: Baldwin, Cynthia
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Doherty, William
Baldwin, Cynthia
Shifts and Stability in Locus of Control During the 1970s: Divergence of the Sexes
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48,4 (April 1985): 1048-1053.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022351407603975
Cohort(s): Mature Women, Older Men, Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Control; Gender Differences; Locus of Control (see Rotter Scale); Rotter Scale (see Locus of Control); Sex Roles

Using NLS data from the Older Men, Mature Women, Young Men, and Young Women cohorts, this study investigates changes in locus of control orientation from the late 1960s through the late 1970s. Each subject was administered a locus of control scale three times over a seven or eight year period. The scale was an 11-item abbreviated version of Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (I-E; Rotter, 1966). The findings showed close similarity in locus of control scores among the four groups in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. However, by 1976-78 both groups of women had moved substantially toward the external end of the scale, while both groups of men remained basically unchanged. Changes in scores for women could not be accounted for by demographic factors entered into multiple regression analyses. The authors suggest a "cultural-shift" interpretation of the sex differences found: women in the mid-1970s became more aware of the external constraints on their ability to meet their goals in the labor force and other settings; as a group men presumably did not experience similar changes in their perceptions. Overall, the findings presented here document a major divergence between the sexes on perceived control during a decade when sex role issues reached national prominence.
Bibliography Citation
Doherty, William and Cynthia Baldwin. "Shifts and Stability in Locus of Control During the 1970s: Divergence of the Sexes." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48,4 (April 1985): 1048-1053.