Spheres of Control Scale: Version 3


Write a number from 1 to 7 to indicate how much you agree with each statement.

1        2        3        4        5        6        7
/        /        /        /        /        /        /
Disagree                  Neutral                      Agree



____ 1.  I can usually achieve what I want if I work hard for it.

____ 2.  In my personal relationships, the other person usually has more control than I do.

____ 3.  By taking an active part in political and social affairs, we the people can 
          influence world events.

____ 4.  Once I make plans, I am almost certain to make them work.

____ 5.  I have no trouble making and keeping friends.

____ 6.  The average citizen can have an influence on government decisions.

____ 7.  I prefer games involving some luck over games requiring pure skill.

____ 8.  I'm not good at guiding the course of a conversation with several others.

____ 9.  It is difficult for us to have much control over the things politicians do in office.

____ 10.  I can learn almost anything if I set my mind to it.

____ 11.  I can usually develop a personal relationship with someone I find appealing.

____ 12.  Bad economic conditions are caused by world events that are beyond our control.

____ 13.  My major accomplishments are entirely due to my hard work and ability.

____ 14.  I can usually steer a conversation toward the topics I want to talk about.

____ 15.  With enough effort we can wipe out political corruption.

____ 16.  I usually do not set goals because I have a hard time following through on them.

____ 17.  When I need assistance with something, I often find it difficult to get others to help.

____ 18.  One of the major reasons we have wars is because people don't take enough 
            interest in politics.

____ 19.  Bad luck has sometimes prevented me from achieving things.

____ 20.  If there's someone I want to meet, I can usually arrange it.

____ 21.  There is nothing we, as consumers, can do to keep the cost of living from 
           going higher.

____ 22.  Almost anything is possible for me if I really want it.

____ 23.  I often find it hard to get my point of view across to others.

____ 24.  It is impossible to have any real influence over what big businesses do.

____ 25.  Most of what happens in my career is beyond my control.

____ 26.  In attempting to smooth over a disagreement, I sometimes make it worse.

____ 27.  I prefer to concentrate my energy on other things rather than on solving the 
            world's problems.

____ 28.  I find it pointless to keep working on something that's too difficult for me.

____ 29.  I find it easy to play an important part in most group situations.

____ 30.  In the long run, we the voters are responsible for bad government on a 
            national as well as a local level.




Scoring:
On all the negatively-keyed items, reverse the subject's responses (i.e., 7=1, 6=2, 5=3, 4=4, 
3=5, 2=6, 1=7).  Then calculate the three scores by summing the 10 items for each 
subscale.

Personal Control:  Positive 1, 4, 10, 13, 22
                   Negative 7, 16, 19, 25, 28


Interpersonal Control: Positive 5, 11, 14, 20, 29
                       Negative 2, 8, 17, 23, 26


Socio-Political Control: Positive 3, 6, 15, 18, 30
                         Negative 9, 12, 21, 24, 27


Norms based on 177 UBC undergraduates:

     Subscale            Mean             S.D.        Alpha
       
       PC               51.4             8.3          .80
       
       IPC              47.1             9.1          .83
      
       SPC              36.6             8.3          .75