If you could give any quality to your children, which one would you choose? Great intelligence? Empathy for humanity? Much more respect for your parents? The ability to walk past the refrigerator without opening it?
Deborah Cobb-Clark, an economist at the University of Sydney, has a different answer: an internal locus of control. The concept of locus of control was developed in the 1960s by a psychologist with the memorable name, Julian Rotter. It is closely linked to the idea of action. People with internal locus of control believe that they are capable of influencing the world around them; Those with an external locus of control tend to think that luck, fate, or other people determine their fate.
It turns out that being a person with an internal locus of control is quite useful. Motivate the effort: A study by Cobb-Clark and his co-authors looked at a group of people who had just lost their jobs in Germany and found that those with a more external locus of control searched for work less intensely than internal ones. After all, why spend time looking for a job if the results do not depend on one's actions? In addition, external workers had lower reservation wages, that is, the minimum wage they were willing to accept for a job.
An internal locus is linked to self-control: another study concluded that households with a greater sense of action save more of their wealth. It also helps turn intention into action, as it seems to prompt people with entrepreneurial aspirations to actually take the plunge and become founders.
Being a person with an internal locus of control also seems to benefit offspring. A study conducted by Warn Lekfuangfu of the Carlos III University of Madrid, together with her co-authors, found that, all things being equal, expectant mothers' locus of control is related to the effort they dedicate to active parenting. Insiders tend to think that time spent developing their children's skills will pay off. External ones, on the other hand, are more likely to believe: "Little Rodney is just a helpless toy in the hands of fate."
Locus of control exists on a spectrum. Cobb-Clark is especially concerned about the small minority of people who never really develop a sense of their own agency. However, many more routinely underestimate their ability to influence their circumstances.
In her eloquently titled book, You Can Just Do Things, Cate Hall cites research by Francis Flynn and Vanessa Lake, then of Columbia University, showing that people miscalculate the probability that others will respond to their requests for help. In a series of experiments, researchers asked participants to estimate how many strangers they would have to approach to complete various tasks, from filling out questionnaires to borrowing a cell phone to make a call. The actual numbers were much lower than the estimates, not because people are incredibly kind, but because it is uncomfortable to refuse a direct request for help.
In another experiment, Steven Levitt of the University of Chicago had people hesitating about a big decision toss a virtual coin to help them choose. If the currency favored change, the person was much more likely to choose to break with the status quo. Those who did so reported feeling much happier than those who did not. This suggests that many people who would benefit from a change lack the determination to take control of their own destiny without a little push.
If an external locus of control is holding people back, it could also be holding back organizations. A new study, co-authored by Feng Xu of the Harbin Institute of Technology, analyzes the adoption of artificial intelligence by manufacturing companies in Shenzhen. The researchers conclude that those who have an internal locus of control, and therefore tend to see artificial intelligence as a skill to be mastered, are more willing to share knowledge about their experiences with this technology. On the contrary, those who have an external locus of control, and tend to perceive technology as a threat to their job, are more likely to hide information.
What should managers do about it? They could evaluate the locus of control in selection processes: Andrej Karpathy, a well-known AI researcher, has stated that, as a trait, initiative is both more powerful and rarer than intelligence. Compensation and promotion systems should routinely reward achievement, although that link can be made more explicit. You can also establish cultural norms that encourage people to take action. “Ask for forgiveness, not permission” is a mantra that can have quite negative consequences if you have many people with high initiative and no type of limits. But the idea behind it is valid.
