Internal Control Index

The Internal Control Index is a way of measuring Locus of control, which is the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that affect them. Individuals with a high internal locus of control believe they are in control of their lives, while those with a low internal locus of control believe that other factors control their life. This has a big impact on Motivation.

1 Internal Control Index Questions

To use this index, use the dropdown to show how you would answer the questions below. The values in the drop down are defined below:

Rarely	less than 10 % of the time
Occasionally	30% of the time
Sometimes	50% of the time
Frequently	70% of time
Usually	+90% of time

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1. When faced with a problem I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually try to forget it.
   
2. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually need frequent encouragement from others to keep working at a difficult task.
   
3. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually like jobs where I can make decisions and be responsible for my own work.
   
4. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually change my opinion when someone I admire disagrees with me.
   
5. If I want something I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually work hard to get it.
   
6. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually prefer to learn facts about something I work hard to get it.
   
7. I will RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually accept jobs that require me to supervise others.
   
8. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually have a hard time saying "no" when someone tries to sell me something.
   
9. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually like to have a say in any decisions made by any group I'm in.
   
10. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually consider the different sides of an issue before making a decision.
    
11. What other people think RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually has a great influence on my behaviour.
    
12. Whenever something good happens to me I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually feel it is because I earned it.
    
13. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually enjoy being in a position of leadership.
    
14. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually need someone else to praise my work before I am satisfied with what I've done.
    
15. I am RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually sure enough of my opinions to try to influence others.
    
16. When something is going to affect me I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually learn as much as I can about it.
    
17. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually decide to do things on the spur of the moment.
    
18. For me, knowing I've done something well is RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually more important than being praised by someone else.
    
19. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually let other people's demands keep me from doing things I want to do.
    
20. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually stick to my opinions when someone disagrees with me.
    
21. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually do what I feel like doing, not what other people think I ought to do.
    
22. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually get discouraged when doing something that takes a long time to achieve results.
    
23. When part of a group I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually prefer to let other people make all the decisions.
    
24. When I have a problem I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually follow the advice of friends or relatives.
    
25. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually enjoy trying to do difficult tasks more than I enjoy doing easy tasks.
    
26. I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually prefer situations where I can depend on someone else's ability rather than my own.
    
27. Having someone important tell me I did a good job is RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually more important to me than feeling I've done a good job.
    
28. When I am involved in something I RarelyOccasionallySometimesFrequentlyUsually try to find out all I can about what is going on, even when someone else is in charge.
    

Your ICI is: (See below for interpretation)

2 ICI and Running Survey

I asked in a recent survey people's ICI score and how they would characterize themselves. The results are shown below, which suggests there may be a correlation between ICI and running. However, the sample size is too small to draw any firm conclusions

Average ICI	Type
104	A non-runner
100.6	A non-competitive runner
104.6	A competitive runner
110.5	A competitive marathon runner
112.8	A non-competitive ultramarathon runner
117.1	A competitive ultramarathon runner

Looking at just runners, competitive had an average ICI of 114 and non-competitive 111. Runners had an average of 103, marathon runners 111 and ultramarathon runners 114. Remember these are average values based on how respondents characterized themselves. The averages do suggest a possible correlation, but correlation is not causation. This means that having a higher ICI does not cause you to run longer distances, nor does running longer distances cause you to have a higher ICI. The values do suggest that people who run further or who are more competitive may have on average a higher ICI value, but this is only an overall average, and there is a wide overlap in value. Of course, XKCD puts this far better...

3 The meaning of ICI Values

The ICI questions will give you a number in the range 28-140, with higher numbers indicating a more internal Locus of Control (LoC). The value 84 is the center of the scale, indicating neither an internal nor external LoC. Values below 84 indicate a belief that your life is controlled more by external forces than yourself, and the lower the value, the stronger that belief in the power of external forces. Likewise, values above 84 indicate a belief that you are in control of your own life, with higher values indicating stronger belief in your own power.

Note that 84 is not an average or normal value. A 2003 study of 100 people, 50 with high school education or less and 50 with graduate degree or higher found that those with a high school education or less had an average ICI of 99.7 (SD 14.7) where those with a graduate degree or higher had an average ICI of 116.7 (SD 12.3). The original ICI work did examined 1365 junior college, university undergraduate, and continuing education students and found average ICI values between 99.3 and 120.8 for various groups within the sample.