Locus of Control and Reactions to Strangers
The behavior of male subjects with an internal or external locus of control orientation was studied in an unstructured dyadic situation. When confronted with one another as unfamiliar persons, externals talked more than internals, and looked at one another more. These results were interpreted to mean that externals were more socially dependent than internals, and that their behavior represented an attempt to clarify an ambiguous social situation. The responses of dyad members were highly correlated, with the result that effects for the personality dimension were generally evident at the level of the dyad, rather than at the subjects-withindyad level.