---
title: "External Locus of Control | Developmental Psychology"
description: "External locus of control is the belief that outcomes come from luck, fate, or other people, a concept that shapes motivation, self-esteem, and resilience."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/developmental-psychology/key-terms/external-locus-of-control"
type: "key-term"
subject: "Developmental Psychology"
unit: "Unit 10"
---

# External Locus of Control | Developmental Psychology

## Definition

External locus of control is the belief that outcomes are mostly shaped by luck, fate, or other people rather than your own actions. In Developmental Psychology, it helps explain motivation, self-esteem, and how people respond to success or failure over time.

## What It Is

External locus of control is the idea that what happens to you is mostly controlled by forces outside your own action, like luck, fate, authority figures, or other people. In Developmental Psychology, this shows up when a person explains success or failure by saying, "I got lucky," "the teacher was unfair," or "nothing I do changes the result." That mindset is the opposite of internal locus of control, where you see your own choices and effort as the main reason outcomes happen.

This term matters because Developmental Psychology does not just look at what children and teens do, it looks at how they explain what happens to them. A child who thinks a bad grade happened because the test was unfair may keep trying, but a child who thinks effort never matters may stop trying altogether. Those explanations shape self-esteem, motivation, and how willing someone is to take on challenges.

External locus of control is not the same as being lazy or negative. Sometimes it comes from repeated experiences where a person genuinely had little control, like unstable home routines, inconsistent feedback from adults, or repeated failure despite effort. When that happens over and over, it can train a person to expect outcomes to feel random or controlled by someone else.

That is where the connection to learned helplessness shows up. If someone keeps believing their actions do not change results, they may stop trying even when a new chance appears. In a classroom, that can look like not studying, not asking questions, or giving up quickly after one mistake. In a social setting, it can look like avoiding leadership or assuming other people always decide the outcome.

Developmental Psych also looks at how these beliefs change with age and experience. Younger children often think in more concrete, immediate ways, while older children and teens become better at linking effort, ability, and results. As that happens, they may shift toward a more internal locus of control, especially if adults give clear feedback that effort leads to improvement.

Culture can shape this too. In some settings, people are taught to focus more on group outcomes, authority, or fate than personal control, so an external locus of control may be more common and not automatically unhealthy. The real question is whether the person can still notice where their actions matter and where outside forces genuinely shape the situation.

## Why It Matters

External locus of control shows up whenever a developmental psychology question asks why a child, teen, or adult responds to success and failure the way they do. It helps you explain low persistence, weak academic effort, or a "why bother" attitude without assuming the person lacks ability. The issue is often the explanation they use for outcomes, not just the outcome itself.

This term also connects directly to self-esteem and self-efficacy. If someone believes outcomes are controlled by luck or other people, they may feel less capable of changing their life, which can lower confidence over time. That matters in school settings, social development, and identity formation because repeated beliefs about control affect how a person approaches future goals.

It also helps you compare healthy caution with helplessness. A student who says, "I did not do well because I did not study enough," is showing a more internal, action-based explanation. A student who says, "It did not matter what I did, the test was rigged," is leaning external. That difference is often the whole point of a quiz item or short-answer prompt.

## Connections

### internal locus of control

This is the direct contrast. Internal locus of control means you believe your own effort, choices, and abilities shape outcomes. When you compare the two, look at the explanation a person gives for success or failure. A developmental psychology question may ask whether a child blames luck and adults, or whether the child sees personal effort as the reason things happened.

### self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is your belief that you can succeed at a specific task. External locus of control can weaken self-efficacy because if you think outcomes are decided by luck or other people, you are less likely to believe your actions will work. The two are related, but not identical. You can feel generally controlled by outside forces and still feel confident in one narrow skill.

### learned helplessness

Learned helplessness is what can happen after repeated experiences of no control. An external locus of control can feed into it by making a person expect that effort will not change results. In developmental psychology, this is useful for explaining why someone stops trying after repeated setbacks, even when a new opportunity actually could improve the outcome.

### [mastery orientation](/developmental-psychology/key-terms/mastery-orientation)

Mastery orientation focuses on improving skill and learning from mistakes, not just getting a quick reward. People with a stronger external locus of control are less likely to stay mastery-oriented if they think effort does not matter. When a teacher gives feedback on growth and strategy, it can move someone away from blaming luck and toward steady improvement.

## On the AP Exam

A quiz item or short-response question may give you a scenario about a student, athlete, or child and ask you to name the type of control belief being shown. If the person blames fate, luck, unfair adults, or other outside forces for the result, that points to external locus of control. Your job is then to connect that belief to likely behavior, such as lower persistence, weaker motivation, or giving up after setbacks.

You may also be asked to compare it with self-efficacy or learned helplessness. The best response does not just define the term, it explains how the belief affects action in the example. Look for the explanation the person uses, because that is what tells you whether the control is internal or external.

## external locus of control vs internal locus of control

These are easy to mix up because both describe how people explain outcomes. External locus of control means outcomes come from outside forces, while internal locus of control means outcomes come from your own choices and effort. If a scenario says someone thinks success is mostly luck or depends on other people, that is external. If it says they think effort changes results, that is internal.

## Key Takeaways

- External locus of control is the belief that outside forces, not your own actions, mostly determine what happens.
- In Developmental Psychology, it helps explain motivation, self-esteem, and how people interpret success and failure across age groups.
- A person with this mindset may give up faster, take less initiative, or feel less responsible for outcomes.
- It can connect to learned helplessness when someone repeatedly expects effort to make no difference.
- Culture and repeated life experiences can shape how strongly someone relies on external explanations.

## FAQs

### What is external locus of control in Developmental Psychology?

It is the belief that outcomes are controlled by outside forces like luck, fate, teachers, parents, or other people. In developmental psychology, this matters because it affects how people explain success, failure, and responsibility as they grow. It can shape motivation, confidence, and persistence.

### How is external locus of control different from internal locus of control?

External locus of control means you think outside forces drive outcomes, while internal locus of control means you think your actions and effort matter most. The difference shows up in the explanation a person gives after something happens. That explanation often predicts whether they keep trying or give up.

### Can external locus of control affect school performance?

Yes. If a student thinks grades depend mostly on luck or unfairness, they may study less or stop trying after a setback. That does not mean the student cannot succeed, it means their beliefs about control may be lowering effort and persistence.

### Is external locus of control always bad?

Not always. Sometimes people really are facing forces they cannot control, and recognizing that can be realistic. The problem starts when the belief becomes so strong that the person stops seeing any connection between effort and outcome, which can hurt motivation and confidence.

## Related Study Guides

- [10.1 Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy](/developmental-psychology/unit-10/self-esteem-self-efficacy/study-guide/oX7GnFy1f0be6Ox2)

## About This Document

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