Relationship between Self-Esteem and Locus of Control

Recent conceptualizations of self-esteem have placed it within a self-other context in an attempt to take the social nature of self-esteem into account. One of the contentions of these formulations is that people with high self-esteem have a greater potential for self-reinforcement (e.g., Baron, 1970; Fish, 1971; Ziller, Hagey, & Smith, 1969). Platt, Eisenman, and Darbes (1970) tested this contention by correlating the Ziller, er al. (1969) selfesteem measure with Rotterns (1966) Internal-External Control Scale since low scores on the I-E scale indicate an internal orientation with respect to the perceived locus of reinforcements. Their results showed no significant correlations, thus failing to support the validity of the Ziller, et al. (1969) self-esteem measure insofar as its relationship to perceived locus of reinforcement is concerned. Another measure of self-esteem, a feelings of inadequacy scale developed by Janis and Field (1959), also focuses on the social nature of the self-esteem construct. In an attempt to determine its relation to the I-E measure 285 males registered for introductory psychology were administered the Rotter I-E scale and the Janis and Field Feelings of lnadequacy Scale during an evening testing period. Results supported the assumptions made here and by Ziller, et 61. The Pearsonian r for self-esteem and I-E was -.28 ( p < .001). While this correlation only accounts for a small percentage of the variance, it suggests that people with higher self-esteem tend to be more internally oriented. This correlation thus supports the general reasoning of Ziller, et al. insofar as the concept of self-esteem is concerned albeit not with their own questionnaire.