The Locus of Control and Attitudes towards the Economic System and Social Issues: Quantitative Research from Poland

Purpose: The main aim of this research is an investigation of attitudes towards the economic system and social issues. It was assumed that these attitudes depend on personality traits, locus of control being one of them. Methods: The study group consisted of 371 students. The locus of control was measured using Delta Questionnaire (Drwal). The attitudes were diagnosed based on the set of views (six pairs of statements from Morawski’s publication and the paper edited by Reykowski). Results: The obtained results indicate that the differentiation of control in the ‘internal-external’ dimension affects the following attitudes: people accept free-market rules with their consequences, or favour the welfare state which protects social issues, employment, and redistribution of resources. Conclusions: The obtained results turned out to be in line with the content of the tested hypotheses and form the basis for a more general conclusion: the personality trait – the sense of locus of control – guides the way of thinking about which principles of the organization of society’s life should be respected.