Reid-Ware Three-Factor Internal-External Scale

This 45 item scale breaks the Locus of Control construct into three sub-dimensions:
– Social system control (Government‚ social sway etc.‚ 12 items)
– Fatalism (Luck‚ chance etc.‚ 12 items)
– Self-control (i.e. ability to control one’s own desires and emotions‚ etc. 8 items)
Reid-Ware Three-Factor Internal-External Scale
Self-control items
(A) Even when there was nothing forcing me‚ I have found that I will sometimes do things I really did not want to do.
(B) I always feel in control of what I am doing.
(A) Sometimes I impulsively do things which at other times I definitely would not let myself do.
(B) I find that I can keep my impulses in control.
(A) When I put my mind to it I can constrain my emotions.
(B) There are moments when I cannot subdue my emotions and keep them in check.
(A) People cannot always hold back their personal desires: they will behave out of impulse.
(B) If they want to‚ people can always control their immediate wishes‚ and not let these motives determine their total behavior.
(A) Although sometimes it is difficult‚ I can always willfully restrain my immediate behavior.
(B) Something I cannot do is have complete ma‎stery over all my behavioral tendencies.
(A) It is possible for me to behave in a manner very different from the way I would want to behave.
(B) It would be very difficult for me to not have ma‎stery over the way I behave.
(A) Self-regulation of one’s behavior is always possible.
(B) I frequently find that when certain things happen to me I cannot restrain my reaction.
(A) When I make my mind up‚ I can always resist temptation and keep control of my behavior.
(B) Even if I try not to submit‚ I often find I cannot control myself from some of the enticements in life such as over-eating or drinking.
Social system control items
(A) There will always be wars no matter how hard people try to prevent them.
(B) One of the major reasons why we have wars is because people do not take enough interest in politics.
(A) There are institutions in our society that have considerable control over me.
(B) Little in this world controls me‚ I usually can do what I decide to do.
(A) If I put my mind to it‚ I could have an important influence on what a politician does in office.
 (B) When I look at it carefully‚ I realize it is impossible for me to have any really important influence over what politicians do.
(A) As far as the affairs of our country are concerned‚ most people are the victims of forces they do not control and frequently do not even understand.
(B) By taking part in political and social events the people can directly control much of the country’s affairs.
(A) I do not know why politicians make the decisions they do.
(B) It is easy for me to understand why politicians do the things they do.
(A) With enough effort people can wipe out political corruption.
(B) It is difficult (or people to have much control over the things politicians do in office.
(A) By active participation in the appropriate political organizations people can do a lot to keep the cost of living from going higher.
(B) There is very little people can do to keep the cost of living from going higher.
(A) In this world I am affected by social forces which I neither control nor understand.
(B) It is easy for me to avoid and function independently of any social forces that may attempt to have control over me.
(A) Generally speaking‚ my behavior is not governed by others.
(B) My behavior is frequently determined by other influential people.
(A) People can and should do what they want to do both now and in the future.
(B) There is no point in people planning their lives too far in advance because other groups of people in our society will invariably upset their plans.
(A) The average man can have an influence in government decisions.
(B) This world is run by a few people in power and there is not much the little guy can do about it.
(A) Most people do not understand why politicians behave the way they do.
(B) In the long run people are responsible for bad government on a national as well as on a local level.
Fatalism items
(A) For the average citizen becoming a success is a matter of hard work‚ luck has little or nothing to do with it.
(B) For the average guy getting a good job depends mainly on being in the right place at the right time.
(A) In my case getting what I want has little or nothing to do with luck.
(B) It is not always wise for me to plan too far ahead because many things turn out to be a matter of good or bad fortune anyhow.
(A) In many situations what happens to people seems to be determined by fate.
(B) People do not realize how much they personally determine their own outcomes.
(A) Most people do not realize the extent to which their lives are controlled by accidental happenings.
(B) For any guy‚ there is no such thing as luck.
(A) With fate the way it is‚ many times I feel that I have little influence over the things that happen to me.
(B)It is impossible for me to believe that chance or luck plays an important role in my life.
(A) Many times I feel I might just as well decide what to do by flipping a coin.
(B) In most cases I do not depend on luck when I decide to do something.
(A) In the long run people receive the respect and good outcomes they worked for.
(B) Unfortunately‚ because of misfortune or bad luck‚ the average guy’s worth often passes unrecognized no matter how hard he tries.
(A) What people get out of life is always a function of how much effort they put into it.
(B) Quite often one finds that what happens to people has no relation to what they do‚ what happens just happens.
(A) There is no such thing as luck‚ what happens to me is a result of my own behavior.
(B) Sometimes I do not understand how I can have such poor luck.
(A) Many of the unhappy things in people’s lives are at least partly due to bad luck.
(B) People’s misfortunes result from the mistakes they make.
(A) My getting a good job or promotion in the future will depend a lot on my getting the right turn of fate.
(B) When I get a good job‚ it is always a direct result of my own ability and/or motivation.
(A) I often realize that despite my best efforts some outcomes seem to happen as if fate planned it that way.
(B) The misfortunes and successes I have had were the direct result of my own behavior
 
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