Multidimensional Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (Multidimensional I-E Scale)

Choose one: (a) Without the right breaks one cannot be an effective leader. or (b) Capable people who fail to become leaders have not taken advantage of their opportunities.

Choose one: (a) No matter how hard you try, some people just don't like you. or (b) People who can't get others to like them, don't understand how to get along with others.

Choose one: (a) In the case of the well prepared student, there is rarely if ever such a thing as an unfair test. or (b) Many times exam questions tend to be so unrelated to course work that studying is really useless.

Choose one: (a) Becoming a success is a matter of hard work; luck has little or nothing to do with it. or (b) Getting a good job depends mainly on being in the right place at the right time.

Choose one: (a) Who gets to be the boss often depends on who was lucky enough to be in the right place first. or (b) Who gets to be boss depends on who has the skill and ability, luck has little or nothing to do with it.

Choose one: (a) It is hard to know whether or not a person really likes you. or (b) How many friends you have depends upon how nice a person you are.

Choose one: (a) Without the right breaks, one cannot be an effective leader. or (b) Getting people to do the right thing depends upon ability; luck has little or nothing to do with it.

Choose one: (a) Sometimes I can't understand how teachers arrive at the grades they give. or (b) There is a direct connection between how hard I study and the grades I get.

Choose one: (a) Knowing the right people is important in deciding whether a person will get ahead. or (b) People will get ahead in life if they have the goods and do a good job; knowing the right people has nothing to do with it.

Choose one: (a) Leadership positions tend to go to capable people who deserve being chosen. or (b) It's hard to know why some people get leadership positions and others don't; ability doesn't seem to be the important factor.

Choose one: (a) People who don't do well in life often work hard, but the breaks just don't come their way. or (b) Some people just don't use the breaks that come their way. If they don't do well, it’s their own fault.

Choose one: (a) Most people don't realize the extent to which their lives are controlled by accidental happenings. or (b) There really is no such thing as 'luck.'

Choose one: (a) People are lonely because they don't try to be friendly. or (b) There's no much use in trying too hard to please people, if they like you, they like you.

Choose one: (a) I have often found that what is going to happen will happen. or (b) Trusting to fate has never turned out as well for me as making a decision to take a definite course of action.

Choose one: (a) What happens to me is my own doing. or (b) Sometimes I feel that I don't have enough control over the direction my life is taking.

Choose one: (a) When I make plans, I am almost certain that I can make them work. or (b) It is not always wise to plan too far ahead because many things turn out to be a matter of good or bad fortune anyhow.

Choose one: (a) In my case, getting what I want has little or nothing to do with luck. or (b) Many times we might just as well decide what to do by flipping a coin.

Choose one: (a) Many times I feel that I have little influence over the things that happen to me. or (b) It is impossible for me to believe that chance or luck play an important role in my life.

Choose one: (a) As far as world affairs are concerned, most of us are the victims of forces we can neither understand nor control. or (b) By taking an active part in political and social affairs, the people can control world events.

Choose one: (a) Racial discrimination is here to stay. or (b) People may be prejudiced but it’s possible for American society to completely rid itself of open discrimination.

Choose one: (a) One of the major reasons why we have wars is because people don't take enough interest in politics. or (b) There will always be wars, no matter how hard people try to prevent them.

Choose one: (a) The racial situation in America may be very complex, but with enough money and effort, it is possible to get rid of racial discrimination. or (b) We'll never completely get rid of discrimination. It’s part of human nature.

Choose one: (a) It’s lack of skill and abilities that keeps many Negroes from getting a job. It’s not just because they're Negro. When a Negro is trained to do something, he is able to get a job. or (b) Many qualified Negroes can't get a good job. White people with the same skills wouldn't have any trouble.

Choose one: (a) The best way to handle problems of discrimination is for each individual Negro to make sure he gets the best training possible for what he wants to do. or (b) Only if Negroes pull together in civil rights groups and activities can anything really be done about discrimination.

Choose one: (a) The best way to overcome discrimination is through pressure and social action. or (b) The best way to overcome discrimination is for each individual Negro to be even better trained and more qualified than the most qualified white person.

Choose one: (a) Many Negroes who don’t do well in life do have good training, but the opportunities just always go to whites. or (b) Negroes may not have the same opportunities as whites, but many Negroes haven't prepared themselves enough to make use of the opportunities that come their way.

Choose one: (a) Negroes would be better off and the cause of civil rights advanced if there were fewer demonstrations. or (b) The only way Negroes will gain their civil rights is by constant protest and pressure.

Choose one: (a) Depending on bi-racial committees is just a dodge. Talking and understanding without constant protest and pressure will never solve problems of discrimination. or (b) Talking and understanding as opposed to protest and pressure is the best way to solve racial discrimination.

Choose one: (a) Many Negroes have only themselves to blame for not doing better in life. If they tried harder, they'd do better. or (b) When two qualified people, one Negro and one white, are considered for the same job, the Negro won't get the job no matter how hard he tries.

Choose one: (a) Organized action is one approach to handling discrimination, but there are probably very few situations that couldn’t be handled better by Negro leaders talking with white leaders. or (b) Most discriminatory situations simply can’t be handled without organized pressure and group action.

Choose one: (a) The attempt to 'fit in' and do what's proper hasn't paid off for Negroes. It doesn't matter how 'proper' you are, you'll still meet serious discrimination if you're Negro. or (b) The problem for many Negroes is that they aren't really acceptable by American standards. Any Negro who is educated and does what is considered proper will be accepted and get ahead.

Choose one: (a) Discrimination affects all Negroes. The only way to handle it is for Negroes to organize together and demand rights for all Negroes. or (b) Discrimination may affect all Negroes but the best way to handle it is for each individual Negro to act like any other American to work hard, get a good education, and mind his own business.

Choose one: (a) Many of the unhappy things in people's lives are partly due to bad luck. or (b) People's misfortunes result from the mistakes they make.

Choose one: (a) In the long run people get the respect they deserve in this world. or (b) Unfortunately, an individual's worth often passes unrecognized no matter how hard he tries.

Choose one: (a) The idea that teachers are unfair to students is nonsense. or (b) Most students don't realize the extent to which their grades are influenced by accidental happenings.

Choose one: (a) The average citizen can have an influence in government decisions. or (b) This world is run by the few people in power and there is not much the little guy can do about it.

Choose one: (a) With enough effort, we can wipe out political corruption. or (b) It is difficult for people to have much control over the things politicians do in office.

Choose one: (a) The so-called 'white backlash' shows once again that whites are so opposed to Negroes getting their rights that it’s practically impossible to end discrimination in America. or (b) The so-called 'white backlash' has been exaggerated. Certainly enough whites support the goals of the Negro cause for Americans to see considerable progress in wiping out discrimination.

Choose one: (a) If a Negro only tries hard enough, he can get ahead despite opposition from whites. or (b) It’s true that an individual Negro can get ahead by hard work, but every Negro will sometime face discrimination or opposition that can't be solved by individual effort alone.