Choice or Chance

Internals are better at taking care of themselves and are more apt to participate in the kinds of fitness activities that improve their physical well-being.

Consistent with what was found above, Externals reported themselves to be less likely to compete successfully with others, to more often be hurt by them, and to feel more helpless than did Internals. In contrast, Internals endorsed leadership, helping others, and being cooperative to a greater degree than Externals.

Internality appears to provide protection against the negative expectations of teachers in an academic setting.

negative expectations by teachers were associated with lower self-esteem in Externally controlled students but not in Internally controlled students.

Internals would actively seek out strategies to overcome situations of boredom by increasing task complexity or by overcoming anxiety about competition by practicing harder at the skill tasks needed to make themselves better. It was like they were adjusting the temperature—not too hot and not too cold.

“Since reinforcement in academic environments usually occur at a low rate, students need to persist at academic tasks for relatively long periods of time with little reinforcement…. Internal control would give them some degree of independence in non-supportive classroom environments.”

Internals outperform Externals in academic achievement situations: they tend to get superior grades, score higher on academic tests, and solve problems with greater efficiency. Internals achieve more than Externals in business as well. They make more money, are better leaders, and find ways to feel better about themselves and what they do.

His lack of awareness of the connection between his behavior and its consequences has prevented him from learning what he needs to know to change his self-defeating behaviors into those that would give him a better chance of success.

Externals are more likely to engage in promoting word-of-mouth communications with family and close friends, efforts should be made to target important family members to raise awareness of products. In contrast, because Internals are already spreading information about products to a wider, more diffuse group of individuals, a more general promotion

we do know raising awareness of how we think and act, illuminating connections between our actions and their consequences, encouraging sensible goal setting, rewarding Internal speech and behavior, using praise and encouragement, and creating safe and secure situations are all aspects of the process toward making us more Internal.