Locus of Control, Altruism and Agentic Disposition

Tested a model of attitudinal and personality influences on willingness to take action in support of the environment (agentic disposition) in a sample of 367 Virginia residents. The model, comprised of items from S. H. Schwartz's (1970) theory of norm-activated altruism and an abridged version of H. M. Levenson's (see record 1975-01204-001) 3-dimensional conception of locus of control, fits the data well. Results indicate that (1) locus of control is best viewed as multidimensional rather than unidimensional, (2) each of Levenson's locus of control dimensions plays a unique role in the model of environmental agentic disposition, and (3) agentic disposition can be conceptualized as a type of norm-activated altruism. The role of agentic disposition in legitimating positions taken by social movement organizations is discussed.