Locus of Control: A Comparative Study of Criminals and Non-Criminals

Abstract

Criminal behaviour involves any behaviour or act that is in violation of the criminal law whereas crime is the particular action representing such behaviour. There are many variables which are associated with the alarming increase in criminal behaviour. In this study, an important sociocognitive variable i.e. locus of control has been taken to find out the differences in criminal and non-criminal behaviour in context to their locus of control and interpretation of events in their environment. Locus of control is defined as an individual’s perception about the underlying main causes of the various events that take place in their lives. Locus of control has been argued to be an important predictor of people who are at risk of becoming involved in criminal behaviour. The study hypothesized that there will be significant differences in locus of control between criminals and non-criminals. A sample of 60 criminals and 60 non criminals were analyzed with the help of t-ratios. tratios revealed significant differences between both the groups on all the three dimensions of locus of control. The results were analyzed on the basis of their significant values.