Locus of Control and Cigarette Smoking

A group of 200 (50 non smokers, 50 controlled regular smokers, 50 chain smokers and 50 ex smokers) employed married couples aged between 30 yrs to 50 yrs of age whose minimum educational qualification was graduation were selected as sample in this investigation. A general information schedule and Rotter's external internal control scale were administered on the sample. Finding reveals that, Wives of chain smokers and controlled regular smokers are externally controlled; on the contrary, other groups are internally controlled. The reasons behind the externally controlled as expressed by the wives are mainly-i) they believe that many unhappy things in peoples life are partly due to bad luck, ii) heredity plays a major role in determining personality, iii) bad things are balanced by the good one's and iv) in the long run it is usually better to cover up one's mistakes. The reasons for internally controlled are-i) becoming a success is a matter of hard work, ii) most misfortunes are the result of lack of ability, ignorance, laziness or all three, iii) people are lonely because they do not try to be friendly and iv) what happens to a person is his/her own doing.