Preschoolers with an internal locus of control showed better self control
At Stanford in 1974, Walter Mischel and his students developed a scale to assess how preschoolers perceived the causes of their own behavior: did they see themselves as the agents for the good things that happened, or did they credit external factors? And did these differences in causal attribution link to their self-control and how they were developing? In order to measure where they were on this scale of perceived internal versus external locus of control, the children were asked questions like these: “When you draw a whole picture without breaking your crayon, is that because you were very careful? Or because it was a good crayon?” “When somebody brings you a present, is that because you are a good girl or boy? Or because they like to give people presents?”
They then looked at how the children’s answers to these questions were connected to their behavior, which was also assessed in other situations that required self-control. Then they looked at how the children’s answers to these questions were connected to their behavior, which was also assessed in other situations that required self-control. The bottom line from these studies was that even internal locus of controlin preschool was significantly linked to how hard they tried, how long they persisted, and how successful they were at self-control. The more they saw themselves as the causes of positive outcomes, the more likely they were to delay gratification on the Marshmallow Test, to control their impulsive tendencies, and to persist in diverse situations in which their own behavior would be instrumental in reaching the desired outcome.
The child’s self-perception as someone who can—who can exert effort, persist, and be the causal agent for positive outcomes—is nourished by the self-control skills that help them succeed. The more effectively children can wait and work for their bigger treats early in life, and the better the cognitive and emotional skills that enable these triumphs, the more they grow their sense of “Yes, I can!” and ready themselves for new and greater challenges. In time, the mastery experiences and new skills they acquire become intrinsic rewards in which the activity itself is satisfying. The children’s sense of efficacy and agency becomes grounded in their experiences of success and leads to reality-based optimistic expectations and aspirations, each success increasing the chances for the next.
References
- Mischel, Walter. (2014). The Marshmallow Test Chapter 8 The Engine of Success I Think I Can (Epub p. 114) New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
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