Influence of Internal and External Control of Reinforcement Upon Participation and Learning in Vocational Education.

Overview & Synopsis

This study used 889 eleventh grade students and 70 vocational education students enrolled in cooperative education programs to determine the influence of internal and external control of reinforcement upon participation and learning in vocational education. Resultant findings include: (1) Sex was not a determinant of externality. The internal-external variable did not exert a differential effect upon male and female students, (2) Students who view reinforcement as being contingent upon their own behavior (internals), recall more directly and indirectly related occupational information than students who view reinforcement as being dependent upon others (externals), and (3) Internals recal more short-term directly and indirectly related occupational information in vocational cooperative education when measured by a modified true-false recall test. (Author/SN)