Clarifying a Person's Locus of Control

Hey bloggers!

             I recently completed Rotter's Locus of Control Questionnaire/Scale. I found out that I possess a more external locus of control. In doing my research on this topic, I found my results very interesting. My post encompasses thoughts on why it's important for a future OT practitioner to understand locus of control and to know how to influence that in oneself and in others, including future clients.
It is important for student and OT practitioners to understand locus of control, and to know how to influence that in oneself and our future clients. Locus of control is included in the Model of Human Occupation and is a component of the volition subsystem. Volition is the equivalent to one’s motivation. This subsystem consists of three components: (1) Personal causation is one’s sense of effectiveness and confidence on performing action. (2) Interests are one’s intention to seek pleasure from certain action, objects or events. (3) Valued goals are the outcome of how a person determines the importance of various occupational behavior.  

            An understanding of personal causation can be used therapeutically by practitioners in the field and in a variety of settings. If the client feels more externally controlled, he or she may demonstrate unskilled qualities. The client may also show an avoidance in participation in occupations in order to prevent failure from occurring in his or her life. OT practitioners may try to help the client, but they will grow increasingly helpless and fearful. If the client feels more internally controlled, he or she may demonstrate skilled qualities. The client may find their motivation comes from within and seek out opportunities to achieve. This person will learn and grow.

            Practitioners can use this information in order to encourage clients to engage in meaningful and purposeful activities. It is important for the client to feel as if he or she can actively respond or have an effect on what happens in his or her environment. This is similar to possessing an internal locus of control. If OT practitioners can continue to help clients engage in the activities and occupations they love to do, and that make them feel whole, then this can serve to strengthen one’s internal locus of control. 

naturalOT
    

References:

Birchenough, Jennifer L., "Locus of Control, Activity Level, and Living Situation among the Elderly" (1997). Master's Theses. 4629. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4629

Chan, L., & Pang, L. Model of Human Occupations (MOHO). https://ottheory.com/therapy-model/model-human-occupations-moho.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Self-Portrait of a Leader

Image
Hey bloggers! I recently revisited an activity I completed early in my first term and year of OT school in January 2019. It's called A Self-Portrait of a Leader . I completed the activity again in order to compare and determine whether or not my perspective had changed since I started OT school. I wanted to share my results and reflect on what I discovered with you. (Note: I have included the Glyph Key for the drawing at the bottom of the post.)                          Overall, my two glyphs were similar when comparing them side by side. Although, I did notice that even some of my similarities looked different this time around. Four main differences stood out to me between the two glyph pictures: The eyes, ears, hair, and signature. Eyes: In my first drawing, the eyes were small, signifying my belief that there is a fairly equal mixture of leaders and non-leaders in the field of OT. In my second drawing, the eye are much larger, signifying my belief in that the vast m
Read more

Untangling Alzheimer's

Image
Documentary: Untangling Alzheimer's Name: David Suzuki I chose to write about this documentary because Alzheimer’s disease has always been an interesting topic of discussion for me. In my opinion. This neurodegenerative disease is one of the worst a person can experience. It not only affects memory and cognition of the mind, but also the physical aspects of one’s wellbeing.  Much of what causes the neurodegenerative disease Dementia/Alzheimer’s disease remains a mystery, but David Suzuki makes it his mission to uncover the latest breakthroughs in the disease. In her late 60s, Suzuki’s mom would forget things. In her 70s, she passed away and the family realized she had died from some form of the disease. All three of her older siblings also passed away from dementia. David Suzuki is now 77 years of age and fears that he and his family are at risk of developing the disease as well. Age and family history are definitely factors, but how much? He is now setting out to u
Read more