<P> Rotter ( 1975 ) cautioned that internality and externality represent two ends of a continuum , not an either / or typology . Internals tend to attribute outcomes of events to their own control . People who have internal locus of control believe that the outcomes of their actions are results of their own abilities . Internals believe that their hard work would lead them to obtain positive outcomes . They also believe that every action has its consequence , which makes them accept the fact that things happen and it depends on them if they want to have control over it or not . Externals attribute outcomes of events to external circumstances . People with an external locus of control tend to believe that the things which happen in their lives are out of their control , and even that their own actions are a result of external factors , such as fate , luck , the influence of powerful others ( such as doctors , the police , or government officials ) and / or a belief that the world is too complex for one to predict or successfully control its outcomes . Such people tend to blame others rather than themselves for their lives ' outcomes . It should not be thought , however , that internality is linked exclusively with attribution to effort and externality with attribution to luck ( as Weiner 's work -- see below -- makes clear ) . This has obvious implications for differences between internals and externals in terms of their achievement motivation , suggesting that internal locus is linked with higher levels of need for achievement . Due to their locating control outside themselves , externals tend to feel they have less control over their fate . People with an external locus of control tend to be more stressed and prone to clinical depression . </P>
who tends to see their fate as out of their control
People with an external locus of control