The belief that you control your own fate refers to which concept?

Prepare for the AP Psychology Exam with flashcards and multiple choice questions covering common psychology terms. Get hints and explanations to ensure exam readiness!

Multiple Choice

The belief that you control your own fate refers to which concept?

Explanation:
Belief that you control your own fate fits with an internal locus of control. This idea describes whether people think the outcomes they experience are the result of their own actions, effort, and abilities rather than luck, fate, or powerful outside forces. When you hold this view, you’re more likely to take initiative, persist through challenges, and attribute success or failure to what you do, not to luck or others. An external locus of control would attribute outcomes to luck, fate, or other people’s actions, which isn’t what’s described here. Learned helplessness occurs after repeated experiences of uncontrollable events and leads to passive behavior, not a general belief in personal control. Self-efficacy is about confidence in your ability to perform specific tasks; it relates to effectiveness in action but isn’t the same as the broader sense of control over life outcomes.

Belief that you control your own fate fits with an internal locus of control. This idea describes whether people think the outcomes they experience are the result of their own actions, effort, and abilities rather than luck, fate, or powerful outside forces. When you hold this view, you’re more likely to take initiative, persist through challenges, and attribute success or failure to what you do, not to luck or others.

An external locus of control would attribute outcomes to luck, fate, or other people’s actions, which isn’t what’s described here. Learned helplessness occurs after repeated experiences of uncontrollable events and leads to passive behavior, not a general belief in personal control. Self-efficacy is about confidence in your ability to perform specific tasks; it relates to effectiveness in action but isn’t the same as the broader sense of control over life outcomes.

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