Moderating effect of locus of control on the relationship between Schwartz’s security value and cynical hostility among university students
Authors: Paulina Bagińska, Aleksandra Mąkinia, Monika Mokosińska, Artur Sawicki, Bartosz Atroszko
Abstract: The aim of this article is to summarize and supplement previous research that reveals more about the nature of cynical hostility and its possible predictors. Cynical hostility is a trait characterized mainly by negative attitude towards others and mistrust. Values in Schwartz’s theory are trans-situational, cognitive representations of goals and aspirations of a person. Locus of control (LoC) represents expectation of individual about causality of events. Perceiving events as controllable and dependable on one’s actions is labeled as internal locus of control. It was hypothesized that the relationship between cynical hostility and security is positive among people lower on internal control, while there is no such relationship among people higher on internal control. The study was conducted among 244 students (151 women, 89 men, 4 people did not report gender), with mean age M = 21.33 (SD = 2.80). Cook-Medley Hostility Inventory – Brief, Short Schwartz’s Value Survey, and Levenson Locus of Control – Brief (LOC-Brief) scale were used. The results were partially consistent with the hypotheses. Locus of control moderated the relationship between cynical hostility and security – with positive relation for low internal control and negative relation for high internal control. It is congruent with previous findings concerning the relationship between cynicism, socioeconomic status and need for security (Mokosińska et al. 2016).
Publ: Research and Development of Young Scientists in Poland. Humanities and social sciences