Anagram solving and locus of control.

Abstract

The research generated by Rotter's Scale (1966), designed to measure locus of control, describes the internally controlled individual as autonomous in behavior, active in dealing with the environment, and resistant to external influence where not appropriate. It appears, therefore, that internally controlled individuals, as defined by this scale, are more apt to find the external stimulus arrangement of anagram letters less cohesive and easier to rearrange than externally controlled individuals. This suggests that internal control should facilitate anagram solving and that a negative relationship should exist between the number of solutions on an anagram test and an individual's score on the Rotter Internal-External Control Inventory (where low scores are associated with internal control). Thirty-four men and eighty women enrolled in psychology courses were tested in a group both on an anagram test and on Rorter's Internal-External Control Inventory (I-E). A list of GO single-solution (three had two solutions), five-lettet anagrams was administered in a manner described in an earlier study (Gavurin, 1967). Following the anagram test, Rotter's (1966) inventory was administered and scored in the usual way. A signif~cant negative Pearson correlation of -.22 ( p < .025) was obtained between performance on the anagram test and the I-E score for women. For men, however, the correlation of --.16, alchough in the predicted direction, was not statistically significant. The latter result may be attributed to the fact that the mean for men on the I-E was significantly lower than that for women ( t = 2.90, p < .O l , d f = 112) and that relatively few high externally controlled individuals were men. Consequently, the men did not appear to provide the range of I-E values necessary for a significant r . The results indicate there is a significant relationship between anagram solving and internal locus of control for women, but the small correlation indicates a tendency for some Ss to be better anagram solvers. Similar conclusions regarding men cannot be made until a suitable number with a wide range of I-E scores can be tested.