Locus of Control.

About the Test

DeeP Research d.o.o. introduces the most comprehensive cognitive psychometric test to the markets of the Republic of Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The test has been localized for Croatian.

The test assesses cognitive abilities.

In addition to assessing abilities, it also evaluates human skills-those we have acquired through education, experience, environment, etc., and apply in our work with others or individually, such as active listening, active learning, critical thinking, judgment, negotiation, learning strategies, text comprehension, selective attention, and more.

Furthermore, it provides extensive psycho-social profiling, including the respondent's interests, temperament, personality traits, and so on.

One of the batteries used for personal profiling is the locus of control, which will be described in more detail below.

What is Locus of Control?

Crisis.

“A deep, comprehensive disruption in an individual's life or society's functioning with strong and more or less severe and lasting consequences; a critical, transient difficult state (social, political crisis, economic crisis)” (https://www.enciklopedija.hr/natuknica.aspx?id=34066)

Crises are difficult, perhaps even impossible, to predict. No one could have 'planned' the COVID-19 crisis, but just as they are hard to predict, their course and duration are also difficult to estimate. Although as humans we often try to prepare for unforeseen situations and/or events, when they happen, things usually don't turn out as we might have 'expected.' Once something happens, it becomes an integral part of our lives. Since humans are environmental and experiential beings, we have gained some prior experiences throughout our lives and also possess certain abilities, skills, and knowledge. All of this helps us navigate the unknown, or as we now say, the #newnormal.

Perception.

The word perception comes from the Latin word percipere, meaning to grasp or take in. Essentially, perception is the mental process of forming a view of an event, phenomenon, or object, usually from our environment. The synthesis of information and the formation of perception can occur in two directions. Bottom-up, when the brain processes simple information received from our sensory organs (cold, fog, rain –> bad weather), or top-down, when we start from our expectations, learned behavior patterns, and so on.

It is important to state that perception is not a faithful representation of objective reality, but rather (our) interpretation of that reality. We assign meaning to received stimuli based on our prior knowledge, expectations, attitudes, motives… as well as our personality.

The perception of a phenomenon, event, or situation generally does not have to be the same among different people.

In various crisis situations, perception can change, which is why our ability to view situations from different angles is crucial. The ability to see situations in different ways helps us maintain control and cope more easily with various outcomes. If we insist on “universal” solutions and are unwilling to adapt our views to different situations, we risk denying parts of reality, thereby endangering ourselves and/or others, missing business and personal opportunities, and so on.

Why Locus of Control?

Today's lifestyles, job insecurity, challenges in balancing private and professional obligations, and relatively little time to complete all daily tasks generate more and more stressful situations or crises.

Through various studies, it has been concluded that some people simply handle stressful situations well, while others behave entirely differently. Behavior in stressful situations is influenced, among other things, by perception and locus of control.

As humans, we are all different. We differ in a multitude of our good and less good traits and skills. Also, we all have different psychological behavior models, meaning we experience certain people, situations, and phenomena differently, and thus act differently in various situations.

The reason why we all act differently is the locus of control. We distinguish between external and internal locus of control. The difference lies in how individuals perceive their ability to influence outcomes in their lives.

Individuals with an internal locus of control believe that the consequences of their actions are a result of their personal effort, abilities, or personality. People with a strong belief in internal control are more self-confident and decisive, question things, actively seek information to help them achieve their goals, and are more aware of opportunities for advancement.

Individuals with an external locus of control believe that external events have a significant impact on their lives and that they are victims of circumstances, other things, and people. They will often let us know that something is beyond their control.

In Conclusion

Crisis and crisis situations define us in a unique way. Perception is the process by which we synthesize data from the environment and sensory systems and assign meaning to it. Locus of control denotes the perception by which we see control in our lives as external or internal, and it is a type of perception through which we satisfy our needs. Some might say that it makes life easier, while others might say it makes survival easier. But, to live or to survive is, again, a matter of perception.