Effects of alcohol, expectancies, sex and social letting on locus of control.

Abstract

SvssAaY. Compared with subjects who received no alcohol, subjects who received alcohol were more internally oriented regarding the belief in a predictable world and more exter- nally oriented regarding the belief in a controllable world, two of four factors identified in a measure of locus of control. Recently, the effects of alcohol on a wide variety of behaviors have been investigated, and the findings demonstrate the importance of the expectancy regarding the beverage's content (2). This expectancy has been shown (3-5) to mediate diverse behaviors, and the social setting in which the beverage is consumed has also been shown (6) to have a mediating influence. One variable of some interest regarding alcohol consumption is locus of control--the extent to which individuals perceive themselves as control- ling their own life events and reinforcements. Although Lang et al. (5) found no effects of alcohol or expectancies on locus of control, their use of a global index--Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale is questionable. Multidimensional beliefs concerning locus of control may be more specific predictors of behavior. Moreover, results are typically based on correlational, post-hoc data and are confounded by the effects of the treatment program in which subjects participated when tested (7). Another problem in assessing the effects of alcohol and expectancies on locus of control has been the failure to investigate the responses of men and women separately. Not only are men typically more internally oriented (8), they may also be influenced differently by alcohol and the belief regarding the beverage's content (4). The present study assesses the effects of alcohol, expectancies, sex and social setting on multidimensional beliefs concerning locus of control. METHOD