The Relationship Between Locus Of Control And The Big Five Personality Dimensions Among Black Managers In Namibia

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the relation of locus of control to the “big five” personality dimensions (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) for 36 black managers in the private and semi-state organizations in Namibia. Spector’s (1988) work locus of control scale and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory were used to assess locus of control and the big five factors, respectively. It was hypothesized that external locus of control would correlate with low scores on Neuroticism and high scores on Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Contrary to the hypothesis, internal locus of control correlated significantly (p < .05) with high scores on Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness. The correlation coefficients for Conscientiousness and Neuroticism did not reach statistical significance. The sample reported an internal locus of control. Although the sample’s mean scores for all the five factors fell in the average range, the sample had relatively higher mean scores on Conscientiousness and Extraversion, and relatively lower mean score on Agreeableness than the normative sample. The mean scores for Neuroticism and Openness to Experience did not differ much from that of the normative sample. The results of this study are, in most cases, consistent with findings of studies that investigated the same or similar personality traits, which suggest relevancy of personality constructs investigated in this study among research participants. The results are discussed in context of their relation to the findings of previous studies and controversy over cultural portability of personality assessment instruments in general. Suggestions and recommendations for future research and practice of personality assessment in work context are discussed.