<P> Additional research led to the hypothesis that typical expectancy shifts were displayed more often by those who attributed their outcomes to ability, whereas those who displayed atypical expectancy were more likely to attribute their outcomes to chance . This was interpreted that people could be divided into those who attribute to ability (an internal cause) versus those who attribute to luck (an external cause). Bernard Weiner argued that rather than ability - versus - luck, locus may relate to whether attributions are made to stable or unstable causes . </P> <P> Rotter (1975, 1989) has discussed problems and misconceptions in others' use of the internal - versus - external construct . </P> <P> Rotter (1975) cautioned that internality and externality represent two ends of a continuum, not an either / or typology . Internals tend to attribute outcomes of events to their own control . People who have internal locus of control believe that the outcomes of their actions are results of their own abilities . Internals believe that their hard work would lead them to obtain positive outcomes . They also believe that every action has its consequence, which makes them accept the fact that things happen and it depends on them if they want to have control over it or not . Externals attribute outcomes of events to external circumstances . People with an external locus of control tend to believe that the things which happen in their lives are out of their control, and even that their own actions are a result of external factors, such as fate, luck, the influence of powerful others (such as doctors, the police, or government officials) and / or a belief that the world is too complex for one to predict or successfully control its outcomes . Such people tend to blame others rather than themselves for their lives' outcomes . It should not be thought, however, that internality is linked exclusively with attribution to effort and externality with attribution to luck (as Weiner's work--see below--makes clear). This has obvious implications for differences between internals and externals in terms of their achievement motivation, suggesting that internal locus is linked with higher levels of need for achievement . Due to their locating control outside themselves, externals tend to feel they have less control over their fate . People with an external locus of control tend to be more stressed and prone to clinical depression . </P> <P> Internals were believed by Rotter (1966) to exhibit two essential characteristics: high achievement motivation and low outer - directedness . This was the basis of the locus - of - control scale proposed by Rotter in 1966, although it was based on Rotter's belief that locus of control is a single construct . Since 1970, Rotter's assumption of uni-dimensionality has been challenged, with Levenson (for example) arguing that different dimensions of locus of control (such as beliefs that events in one's life are self - determined, or organized by powerful others and are chance - based) must be separated . Weiner's early work in the 1970s suggested that orthogonal to the internality - externality dimension, differences should be considered between those who attribute to stable and those who attribute to unstable causes . </P>

Who tends to see their fate as out of their control