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The Perception of Personal Control: Sufficiently Important to Warrant Careful Scrutiny

Carver et al. propose that expecting a desired outcome is more important than the perception of personal control over that outcome in predicting distress among individuals facing threatening circumstances. They support this hypothesis through an analysis of data from two studies of women with early stage breast cancer. This article turns to the existing empirical literature, to recent theories of adjustment to serious illness, and to the methods employed in the Carver et al. studies to comment on their proposal. The authors conclude that an adequate comparison of how expectancies and control perceptions contribute to the adjustment of individuals in threatening situations will require more attention to the selection of research participants, the appropriate time frame for such studies, and measurement strategies.