It is critically important to remember that no matter how much training or experience we accumulate, we are only partially in control of what happens to us at emergency scenes. These external influences can quickly change who is in control. If a confident responder fails to realizes that some of the control is external, it can lead to problems. However, in a dynamically changing environment, control of the situation may be strongly influenced by other people (e.g., their abilities and inabilities, their decisions and indecision and their actions or inaction), as well as nature (e.g., physics, gravity, thermodynamics, propulsion, decomposition, and the list goes on and on). Those two elements – competence and confidence – help shift the locus of control to be internal (giving you the belief you are in control of the situation). Practicing those skills in repetition, either in training or at real incidents, builds a responder’s confidence. As much as we might want to think otherwise, in many respects we are no longer in control.Ĭompetence + Confidence – Control = TroubleĪ well-trained first responder possesses the competence to perform high risk activities. If you decide to enter a high risk, high consequence, dynamically changing environment, the locus of control quickly shifts to being external. Our decisions can influence the control as well. Some of the environmental factors are controllable, many are not. This is true at emergency scenes as well. In fact, the last thing a first responder wants to feel is out of control… and for good reason.Īs I noted earlier, there are things we can control and things we cannot control. We are provided with a lot of training to ensure we control emergency situations and, in some instances, control the people we deal with during emergencies. I would say that by the very nature of what first responders do, we inherently develop and maintain a strong internal locus of control. Thus, it is a continuum that we move along depending on the situation we are facing. Psychologists caution that it is rare for someone to always feel completely in control or for someone to feel completely out of control. When you feel someone (or something else) is in control of your situation and the things that happen to you, you are thought to have a strong external locus of control. If you feel you are in control of your situation and the things that happen to you, you are thought to have a strong internal locus of control. Who controls your happiness? Who controls your income? Who controls your attitude? Clearly there are people who feel they are personally in control of everything in their lives and people who think they are in control of nothing. But what about the more difficult circumstances in life. We all know there are things for which we have no control (e.g., the weather) and things for which we have total control (e.g., the selection for your favorite cold beverage). Let’s explore the connection.Įveryone has some belief about how much control they have over the things they encounter in life. I recently came across some research on the topic of locus of control that got me wondering about the correlation it may have to first responder safety and risk taking. It is often associated with how a person views what happens to them in life and who is responsible for their successes and failures. Overall, such research has generally suggested that those with a more internal locus of control are more successful, healthier, and happier than those with a more external locus.Locus of control is a psychological principal that refers to the extent to which a person feels they are in control of the events that can affect their life, well-being or success. Researchers have identified several areas in which one’s sense of control appears to affect outcomes, including education, health, and civic engagement. Genetic factors may influence one’s locus of control, as well as an individual’s childhood experiences-particularly the behaviors and attitudes modeled by their early caregivers. Like other constructs in personality psychology, locus of control falls on a spectrum. A person with an external locus of control will tend to feel that other forces-such as random chance, environmental factors, or the actions of others-are more responsible for the events that occur in the individual's life. Someone with an internal locus of control will believe that the things that happen to them are greatly influenced by their own abilities, actions, or mistakes. Locus of control refers to the degree to which an individual feels a sense of agency in regard to his or her life.
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