Choice or Chance: Understanding Your Locus of Control and Why It Matters

This book introduces every aspects of LOC and analyzes the biological, psychological reason behind. You don't need to be a psychologist to fully understand this book. Really worth reading.

Dr. Nowicki wears his learning lightly. This expert study by one of the foremost researchers in the area of "locus of control" poses a fundamental human question: do we see ourselves as generally shaping our lives or shaped by random events and what difference does it make? Nowicki navigates and evaluates decades of psychological research and gives us general readers a masterful and engaging survey of the landscape of personal motivation. This succinct, lucid, and graceful book has much to offer parents, teachers, business managers, and anyone interested in the importance of an "internal" locus of control among citizens of democratic societies.

The tone of the book was like sitting in a college lecture. The content was valuable and interesting. Worth a read.

Excellent research on LOC and the impact it has on our success potential. In a world that seems to encourage more and more of an external LOC, developing an internal LOC helps us create our fate. This book helps!

This book should be read by every school teacher and administrator. It should also be on the reading list of all for and non-profit boards.It is well written and easily understandable for the lay reader. Kudos to Dr. Nowicki for sharing his years of research so all may benefit.

Mostly about the author and how the work was done. Not much content.

Started out interesting, but not a lot to fill it out.

This books explains how people who have an internal Locus of Control tend to have better outcome in life because they take responsibility, be persistent, delay gratification, gather information and resist coercion. People with internal LOC take the reins of life and do the best they can. Those with external LOC think that other things affect their outcomes including things like fate and luck. Internals are more successful academically, professionally and in relationships. Given how they relate to the world, this seems to make sense. Dr. Nowicki spends a good deal of time relating the genesis of the theory of LOC. The basic problem with this book is that it is full of speculation. Although you can test a person for what type of LOC they have, it appears that there is very little tha can be done to change it, based on the examples that the author provides. It's not clear why he spent so much time describing test and their results, only to then turn around and tell us how flawed and inconclusive they are. In the end I was left with the impression that you are either external or internal; but there is not too much you can do about. Also, when speaking about internal vs. external in the workplace, he provides suggestions on how to help one or the other thrive: internals can be given general goals and freedom; internal need structure and direction. The problem is, how do you know who falls into what category, and, if they are on the same team, how do you provide two ways of doing something? Also, a with many other such categorization of people into one type or another, theorists will often say that no one is fully one or fully the other at all times, but falls somewhere on a continuum and sometimes based on circumstances. It seems a reach at this time to expect the business world to apply the knowledge of LOC in any meaningful way.

The concept of LOC is a valid one for study and it seems much has been done. However, this book seems to demonstrate that little has been achieved by the work. It tries to implicate LOC in matters that are complex and related to many other factors that are more established such as VIE Theory. And there are too many anecdotes that beat around the bush. Needs to be shortened dramatically and made more concise.

Great book, a must read for teachers, manager and parents.