Creativity in Writing: A Study of EFL Learners’ Locus of Control
Abstract
The present study aims at providing a clear picture of Julian Rotter’s (1966) locus of control and learners’ creative thinking. Specifically, the study seeks to determine the differences between internal and external orientation in creative writing. In this respect, 20 MA students were asked to complete the Internal Control Index questionnaire and write four writings on the provided topics. The results of the study reveal that internally perceived learners particularly opt more to contemplate and explore cases inasmuch as they believe that they have the control of their environment. However, being in direct opposition, externalizers believe that environment is not under their control and their success and failures are out of their hands. The study concludes that the higher the internal locus of control, the more creative learners are. The research findings may add to our understanding of the learners and learning concerning Attribution Theory.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Adas, A. (1999). Educational psychology. Amman, Jordan: Alfikr House.
Almajali, H.K. (2005). The influence of family upbringing style and locus of control on the creative thinking of preparatory school learners in the united arab emirates. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of South Africa.
Amabile, T.M. (1996). Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Baghaei, S., & Riasati, M.J. (2013). An investigation into the relationship between teachers' creativity and students' academic achievement: A case study of iran efl context. Middle East Journal of Scientific Research, 14(12), 1576-1580. http://DOI: 10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2013.14.12.803.
Barbot, B., Tan, M., Randi, J., Santa-Donato, G., & Grigorenko, E.L. (2012). Essential skills for creative writing: Integrating multiple domain-specific perspectives. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 7(3), 209-223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2012.04.006.
Basgall, J.A., & Snyder, C. (1988). Excuses in waiting: External locus of control and reactions to success-failure feedback. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(4), 656-662.
Beghetto, R.A. (2005). Does assessment kill student creativity? The Educational Forum, 69(3), 254-263.
Behzadi, M.-H., & Manuchehri, M. (2013). Examining creativity of students through smart board in learning mathematics. Mathematics Education Trends and Research, 2013, 1-7. http:// doi:10.5899/2013/metr-00008.
Bender, W.N. (1995). Learning disabilities: Characteristics, identification, and teaching strategies. Needham Heights, Mass: Allyn & Bacon.
Biaggio, A.M. (1985). Relationships between state-trait anxiety and locus of control-experimental studies with adults and children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 8(2), 153-166.
Bown, J. (2006). Locus of learning and affective strategy use: Two factors affecting success in self‐instructed language learning. Foreign Language Annals, 39(4), 640-659.
Carden, R., Bryant, C., & Moss, R. (2004). Locus of cntrol, test anxiety, academic procastination, and achievement among colleges students 1. Psychological reports, 95(2), 581-582.
Chen, J.-C., & Silverthorne, C. (2008). The impact of locus of control on job stress, job performance and job satisfaction in taiwan. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 29(7), 572-582.
Coban, A.E., & Hamamci, Z. (2006). Investigation of focal points in terms of different strategies for the locus of control adolescents decsion. Kastamonu Education Journal, 14(2), 393-402.
Dawson, P. (2005). Creative writing and the new humanities. Routledge.
Demirkan, S. (2006). Self-perceptions of interpersonal relations, conflict resolution approaches in locus of control and their effects on the structure of personality: A study in applied. Unpublished Master Thesis, Ankara University.
Drevdahl, J.E. (1956). Factors of importance for creativity. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 12(1), 21-26.
Duttweiler, P.C. (1984). The internal control index: A newly developed measure of locus of control. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 44(2), 209-221.
Ghonsooly, B., & Elahi, M. (2010). Validating locus of control questionnaire and examining its relation to general english (ge) achievement. Journal of Teaching Language Skills (JTLS) (Journal of Social Aciences and Humannities), 2(1), 117-143.
Ghonsooly, B., &, Elahi, M. (2011). On the relation of locus of control and l2 reading and writing achievement. English Language Teaching, 4(4), 234-244, http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v4n4p234.
Grainger, T., Goouch, K., & Lambirth, A. (2005). Creativity and writing: Developing voice and verve in the classroom: Routledge.
Guilford, J.P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Harrington, D.M., Block, J.H., & Block, J. (1987). Testing aspects of carl rogers's theory of creative environments: Child-rearing antecedents of creative potential in young adolescents. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(4), 851-856.
Hrbáčková, K., Hladík, J., & Vávrová, S. (2012). The relationship between locus of control, metacognition, and academic success. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69, 1805-1811, http:// doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.12.130.
Joo, Y.J., Lim, K.Y., & Kim, J. (2013). Locus of control, self-efficacy, and task value as predictors of learning outcome in an online university context. Computers & Education, 62, 149-158. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.10.027.
Kernis, M.H. (1984). Internal versus external attributions are important determinants of subsequent performance. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 195326
Kesici, S., Sahin, I., & Akturk, A.O. (2009). Analysis of cognitive learning strategies and computer attitudes, according to college students’ gender and locus of control. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(2), 529-534.
Khouzam, H.R. (2009). Anxiety disorders: Guidelines for effective primary care. Part 1: Diagnosis. Consultant, 49(3), 1-3.
Knowles, E., & Kerkman, D. (2007). An investigation of students attitude and motivation toward online learning. InSight: A Collection of Faculty Scholarship, 2, 70-80.
Koçkar, A.I., & Gençöz, T. (2004). Personality, social support, and anxiety among adolescents preparing for university entrance examinations in turkey. Current Psychology, 23(2), 138-146.
Lefcourt, H.M. (1982). Locus of control: Current trends in theory and research. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Lonky, E., & Reihman, J. (1980). Cognitive evaluation theory, locus of control and positive verbal feedback. ERIC Document Service No. ED 195 324.
Mamlin, N., Harris, K.R., & Case, L.P. (2001). A methodological analysis of research on locus of control and learning disabilities rethinking a common assumption. The Journal of Special Education, 34(4), 214-225.
Martinez, M. (2003). High attrition rates in e-learning: Challenges, predictors and solutions. The E-Learning Developers’ Journal, 14, 1-8.
McVey, D. (2008). Why all writing is creative writing. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 45(3), 289-294.
Niu, W., & Sternberg, R.J. (2003). Societal and school influences on student creativity: The case of china. Psychology in the Schools, 40(1), 103-114. http:// DOI: 10.1002/pits.10072.
Norton, J.L. (1994). Creative thinking and locus of control as predictors of reflective thinking in preservice teachers. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 366579.
ÖZen Kutanİs, R., Mescİ, M., & Övdür, Z. (2011). The effects of locus of control on learning performance: A case of an academic organization. Journal of Economic & Social Studies (JECOSS), 1(2), 113-136.
Patten, D.M. (2005). An analysis of the impact of locus-of-control on internal auditor job performance and satisfaction. Managerial Auditing Journal, 20(9), 1016-1029.
Pearson, P.D., & Tierney, R.J. (1984). On becoming a thoughtful reader: Learning to read like a writer. In A. C. Purves & O. S. Niles (Eds.), Becoming readers in a complex society (pp. 144–173). Chicago, IL: National Society of the Study of Education.
Piaget, J. (1959). The language and thought of the child. Psychology Press.
Rotter, J.B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological monographs: General and applied, 80(1), 1-28.
Rotter, J.B. (1990). Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A case history of a variable. American psychologist, 45(4), 489-493.
Sak, U. (2004). About creativity, giftedness, and teaching the creatively gifted in the classroom. Roeper Review, 26(4), 216-222.
Selart, M. (2005). Understanding the role of locus of control in consultative decision-making: A case study. Management Decision, 43(3), 397-412. http:// DOI 10.1108/00251740510589779.
Sharples, M. (1996). An account of writing as creative design. In I. C. M. Levy & S. Ransdell (Eds.), The science of writing:Theories, methods, individual differences and applications (pp. 127-148). Mahwah, NJ:Erlbaum.
Sharples, M. (1999). How we write: Writing as creative design. Routledge.
Simons, J.A., Irwin, D.B., & Drinnin, B.A. (1987). Psychology: The search for understanding: West Publishing Company New York City, NY.
Starko, A.J. (2005). Creativity in the classroom: Schools of curious delight. Routledge.
Straus, J.H., & Straus, M.A. (1968). Family roles and sex differences in creativity of children in bombay and minneapolis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 30(1), 46-53.
Tabrizi, E.A., & Yaacob, S.N. (2011). Relationship between creative thinking and anxiety among adolescent boys and girls in tehran, iran. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(19), 60-66.
Torrance, E.P. (1992). A national climate for creativity and invention. Gifted Child Today (GCT), 15(1), 10-14.
Vass, E. (2007). Exploring processes of collaborative creativity—the role of emotions in children's joint creative writing. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2(2), 107-117. http:// doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2007.06.001.
Von Eschenbach, J., & Noland, R. (1981). Changes in student teachers’ perception of the creative pupil. The Creative Child and Adult Quarterly, 8, 169-177.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological functions. Harvard, Cambridge, MA.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1986). Thought and language (rev. Ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Wang, A.Y. (2007). Contexts of creative thinking: Teaching, learning, and creativity in taiwan and the united states. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest. (UMI No. 3268262)
Wang, A.Y. (2012). Exploring the relationship of creative thinking to reading and writing. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 7(1), 38-47. http:// doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2011.09.001.
Weiner, B. (1979). A theory of motivation for some classroom experiences. Journal of educational psychology, 71(1), 3-25.
White, C. (1999). Expectations and emergent beliefs of self-instructed language learners. System, 27(4), 443-457.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.4n.2p.81
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
2012-2023 (CC-BY) Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature
To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the journal emails into your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders.