SOCIAL REACTION INVENTORY (M)*
This questionnaire consists of twenty pairs of statements marked ‘a’ and ‘b’. The statements express
opinions on matters that concern people in general. After reading both statements in each pair,
please select one (either ‘a’ or ‘b’) with which you personally agree more strongly with, or which you
believe to be more true in your case. Be sure to select the one you actually believe to be more true
rather than one you think you should choose or which you would like to be true. This is a measure of
personal belief; there are no right or wrong answers. Indicate your choice by encircling the serial
letter of the appropriate alternative in your questionnaire.
Remember, select the alternative, which you personally believe to be more true.
1. a. Many of the unhappy things in people’s lives are partly due to bad luck.
b. People’s misfortunes result from the mistakes they make.
2. a. One of the major reasons why we have wars is because people don’t take enough
interest in politics.
b. There will always be wars, no matter how hard people try to prevent them.
3. a. In the long run people get the respect they deserve in this world.
b. Unfortunately, an individual’s worth often passes unrecognized no matter how hard he
tries.
4. a. Without the right breaks (luck), one cannot be an effective leader.
b. Capable people who fail to become leaders have not taken advantage of their
opportunities.
5. a. No matter how hard you try, some people just don’t like you.
b. People who can’t get others to like them, don’t understand how to get along with
others
6. a. I have often found that what is going to happen will happen.
b. Deciding on a definite course of action has usually been better for me than depending
on fate or luck.
7. a. Becoming a success is a matter of hard work; luck has little or nothing to do with it.
b. Getting a good job depends mainly on being in the right place at the right time.
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Adapted by Dr Keith C. D’Souza from the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, in H.M.
Lefcourt (ed.): Locus of Control: Current Trends in Theory and Search, New Jersey, 1982.
8. a. The average citizen can have an influence in government decisions.
b. This world is run by the few people in power, and there is not much the common man can
do about it.
9. a. When I make plans, I am almost certain that I can make them work.
b. It is not always wise to plan too far ahead because many things turn out to be a matter of
good or bad fortune anyhow.
10. a. In my case, getting what I want has little or nothing to do with luck.
b. Many times we might just as well decide what to do by flipping a coin
11. a. Who gets to be the boss often depends on who was lucky enough to be in the right place
first.
b. Getting people to do the right things depends upon ability; luck has little or nothing to do
with it.
12. a. As far as world affairs are concerned, most of us are the victims of forces we can neither
understand nor control.
b. By taking an active part in political and social affairs, people can control world events.
13. a. Most people don’t realise the extent to which their lives are controlled by accidental
happenings
b. There really is no such thing as “luck”
14. a. It is hard to know whether or not a person really likes you.
b. How many friends you have depends upon how nice a person you are.
15. a. In the long run, the bad things that happen to us are balanced by the good ones.
b. Most misfortunes are the result of lack of ability, ignorance, laziness, or all three.
16. a. With enough effort we can wipe out political corruption
b. It is difficult for people to have much control over the things politicians do in office
17. a. Many times I have little influence over the things that happen to me.
b. It is impossible for me to believe that chance or luck plays an important role in my life.
18. a. People are lonely because they don’t try to be friendly
b. There’s not much use in trying too hard to please people; if they like you, they like you.
19. a. What happens to me is my own doing.
b. Sometimes I feel that I don’t have enough control over the direction my life is taking.
20. a. Most of the time I can’t understand why politicians behave the way they do.
b. In the long run the people are responsible for bad government on a national as well as on a
local level.
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