Locus of Control and Attribution Style Test 10 questions, 5 min Do you control your destiny or are you controlled by it? Some people believe that they hold the power to control the outcome of their actions. Other people feel that the outcome of their actions is determined by external factors. What is your locus of control? And what forces are responsible for your successes and failures? These important attitudes affect your motivation, expectations, self-esteem, risk-taking behavior and the actual outcome of your actions. This test assesses your locus of control orientation and your attribution style. "A locus of control orientation is a belief about whether the outcomes of our actions are contingent on what we do (internal control orientation) or on events outside our personal control (external control orientation)." (Zimbardo, 1985, p. 275) Our attribution style determines which forces we hold responsible for our successes and failures. Both locus of control and attribution styles have great influence on our motivation, expectations, self-esteem, risk-taking behavior, and even on the actual outcome of our actions. Examine the following statements and indicate how often you feel that way, to what degree you endorse the statement or how much it applies to you.