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Development of locus of control: A comparison between adolescents from middle- and lower-socioeconomic class

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  • Seemanti Ghosh

Abstract

Locus of control is one’s perceived causality between action and reinforcements, with two extreme perceptions being internal and external. It is a key non-cognitive attribute that has serious influence on education and labour market outcomes, one’s behavioural response to adversities in life and wellbeing in general. However, a child is not born with any perception of control. Control expectancies are shaped through life’s experiences that are heavily determined by one’s socioeconomic class. This study compares the developmental trajectory of control expectancies between adolescents from middle- and lower-class households in India. The results suggest that as the adolescents from middle-class feel more in control of their lives as they grow older therefore aligning their locus internally. Though the adolescents from lower-class feel more in control early on in their lives, this sentiment declines much faster, equalizing with the middle-class group at age ten and diverging thereafter, significantly shifting towards external alignment of locus of control. This study extends our knowledge about biases in perception of control among adolescents from lower-socioeconomic class in a developing country like India. This study also highlights the paucity of longitudinal studies in this literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Seemanti Ghosh, 2020. "Development of locus of control: A comparison between adolescents from middle- and lower-socioeconomic class," Working Papers 2020_23, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    • Handle: RePEc:gla:glaewp:2020_23
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    non-cognitive; locus of control; socioeconomic class; education; labour; inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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