Questionnaire USK (level of subjective control) by Julian Rotter diagnoses the localization of control over significant events, in other words, the level of personal responsibility. It is based on the distinction between two loci of control — internal and external and, accordingly, two types of people — internals and externals.
internal type. A person believes that the events happening to him depend primarily on his personal qualities (competence, purposefulness, level of abilities, etc.) and are natural consequences of his own activity.
external type. A person is convinced that his successes and failures depend primarily on external circumstances — environmental conditions, the actions of other people, chance, luck or bad luck, etc.
Each individual occupies a particular position on the continuum defined by these polar loci of control.
Questionnaire text
Instructions: You will be asked 44 statements relating to various aspects of life and attitudes towards them. Please rate the degree of your agreement or disagreement with the above statements on a 6-point scale: – 3–2 -1 + 1 + 2 + 3, from complete disagreement (-3) to complete agreement (+3).
In other words, give each statement a score from one to three, with a corresponding «+» (agreement) or «-» (disagreement) sign.
1. Promotion depends more on luck than on the ability and effort of a person.
2. Most divorces happen because people didn’t want to fit in with each other.
3. Illness is a matter of chance; If you are destined to get sick, then nothing can be done.
4. People find themselves lonely because they themselves do not show interest and friendliness to others.
5. The fulfillment of my desires often depends on luck.
6. It is useless to make efforts in order to win the sympathy of other people.
7. External circumstances, parents and well-being affect family happiness no less than the relationship of spouses.
8. I often feel like I have little influence on what happens to me.
9. As a rule, leadership is more effective when the leader has full control over the actions of subordinates, and does not rely on their independence.
10. My grades at school, at the institute often depended on random circumstances (for example, the mood of the teacher) more than on my own efforts.
11. When I make plans, I generally believe that I can carry them out.
12. What many people think is luck or good luck is actually the result of long, focused efforts.
13. I think that the right lifestyle can help health more than doctors and medicines.
14. If people are not suitable for each other, then no matter how hard they try, they still will not be able to establish family life.
15. The good that I do is usually appreciated by others.
16. People grow up the way their parents raise them.
17. I think that chance or fate does not play an important role in my life.
18. I don’t try to plan far ahead, because a lot depends on how things turn out.
19. My grades in school depended most of all on my efforts and level of preparedness.
20. In family conflicts, I often feel responsible for myself than for the opposite side.
21. The life of most people depends on a combination of circumstances.
22. I prefer a guide where you can decide for yourself what to do and how to do it.
23. I think that my lifestyle is in no way the cause of my illnesses.
24. As a rule, it is an unfortunate set of circumstances that prevents people from succeeding in their affairs.
25. In the end, the people who work in it are responsible for the poor management of the organization.
26. I often feel like I can’t change anything under the circumstances.
27. If I really want, I can win over almost anyone.
28. So many circumstances affect the rising generation that the efforts of parents to educate them are often useless.
29. What happens to me is the work of my own hands.
30. It can be difficult to understand why leaders act the way they do.
31. A person who has not been able to succeed in his work, most likely, did not show enough effort.
32. Most often, I can get what I want from my family members.
33. In the troubles and failures that were in my life, other people were more often guilty than myself.
34. A child can always be protected from colds if he is monitored and properly dressed.
35. In difficult circumstances, I prefer to wait until problems resolve themselves.
36. Success is the result of hard work and little depends on chance or luck.
37. I feel that the happiness of my family depends on me more than on anyone else.
38. It has always been difficult for me to understand why some people like me and others don’t like me.
39. I always prefer to make a decision and act on my own, rather than relying on the help of other people or on fate.
40. Unfortunately, the merits of a person often remain unrecognized, despite all his efforts.
41. There are situations in family life that cannot be resolved even with the strongest desire.
42. Capable people who failed to realize their potential should only blame themselves for this.
43. Many of my successes were only possible with the help of other people.
44. Most of my failures came from inability, ignorance or laziness and depended little on luck or bad luck.
Processing Results
The processing of test results includes several stages.
1st stage. Calculation of «raw» (preliminary) scores on scales.
Indicators (scales):
1. IO — scale of general internality;
2. ID — scale of internality in the field of achievements;
3. IN — scale of internality in the field of failures;
4. IS — scale of internality in family relations;
5. IP — the scale of internality in industrial relations;
6. IM — scale of internality in the field of interpersonal relations;
7. IS — scale of internality in relation to health and disease.
Calculate the sum of points for each of the seven scales, while the questions indicated in the “+” column are taken with the same score sign, and the questions indicated in the “-” column change the sign of the score to the opposite.
The table below shows the numbers of the statements related to the respective scales.
2nd stage. Transfer of «raw» points to walls (standard scores) is made in accordance with the table below. The walls are presented on a 10-point scale and make it possible to compare the results of different studies.
Analyze quantitatively and qualitatively the indicators of USC on seven scales, comparing the results (obtained «profile») with the norm. A wall value equal to 5 is considered normal. Deviation to the right (6 or more walls) indicates the internal type of the level of subjective control in appropriate situations, deviation to the left (4 or less walls) indicates an external type.
Description of assessed scales
1. General internality scale — AND ABOUT. A high score on this scale corresponds to a high level of subjective control over any significant situations. Such people believe that most of the important events in their lives are the result of their own actions, that they can control them, and thus they feel their own responsibility for these events and for how their life as a whole develops. A low score on the AI scale corresponds to a low level of subjective control. Such people do not see the connection between their actions and life events that are significant to them, do not consider themselves able to control this connection and believe that most events and actions are the result of an accident or the actions of other people.
2. Achievement Internality Scale — ID. High scores on this scale correspond to a high level of subjective control over emotionally positive events and situations. Such people believe that they themselves have achieved all the good things that have been and are in their lives, and that they are able to successfully pursue their goals in the future. Low scores on the ID scale indicate that a person attributes his successes, achievements and joys to external circumstances — luck, good fortune or the help of other people.
3. Scale of internality in the field of failures — IN. High scores on this scale indicate a developed sense of subjective control over negative events and situations, which manifests itself in a tendency to blame oneself for various troubles and suffering. Low IQ scores indicate that a person is inclined to attribute responsibility for such events to other people or to consider these events as the result of bad luck.
4. Scale of internality in family relations — IS. High rates mean that a person considers himself responsible for the events taking place in his family life. Low SI indicates that the subject considers not himself, but his partners to be the cause of significant situations that arise in his family.
5. Scale of internality in the field of industrial relations — IP. A high IP indicates that a person considers his actions an important factor in organizing his own production activities, in developing relationships in a team, in his promotion, etc. A low IP indicates that a person tends to attach more importance to external circumstances — leadership, comrades at work, luck or bad luck.
6. Scale of internality in the field of interpersonal relations — THEM. A high index of IM indicates that a person considers himself able to control his formal and informal relationships with other people, to arouse respect and sympathy for himself. Low MI, on the contrary, indicates that a person cannot actively form his social circle and tends to consider his interpersonal relationships as the result of the activity of partners.
7. Internality Scale for Health and Illness — FROM. High CI indicators indicate that a person considers himself largely responsible for his health: if he is sick, he blames himself for this and believes that recovery largely depends on his actions. A person with low CI considers health and illness to be the result of an accident and hopes that recovery will come as a result of the actions of other people, especially doctors.
A study of self-assessments of people with different types of subjective control showed that people with low USC characterize themselves as selfish, dependent, indecisive, unfair, fussy, hostile, insecure, insincere, dependent, irritable. People with high TSC consider themselves to be kind, independent, decisive, fair, capable, friendly, honest, self-reliant, unflappable. Thus, USC is associated with a person’s feeling of his strength, dignity, responsibility for what is happening, with self-respect, social maturity and independence of the individual.
To interpretation
When people talk about their (high) responsibility, they are more likely to talk about their willingness to experience guilt. Be careful, your high responsibility, if you have it combined with EXPERIENCE for the result, becomes not quite a blessing and puts you before a choice: either reduce responsibility or unlearn the habit of worrying. See Guilt and Responsibility