Background.—The perception of having or not havingcontrol is just as important as the fact of actually being ornot being in control. It is common to feel that we have di-minishing control over our lives, yet the evidence indicatesthat we really do have a great deal of control of our time. Inmaking choices, we exercise control over how we want tospend our time.

Models of Control.—The locus of control model isbased on the perception of the degree of control we be-lieve we exert over our lives. Having a high internal locus ofcontrol indicates the belief that we are in charge most ofthe time. Having a high external locus of control indicatesthat we believe we are under the control of external eventsand people, with very little choice regarding our future.Essentially, neither position is right; they simply reflect cur-rent beliefs. The scope of what we believe regarding con-trol tends to move continuously in a straight line from highexternal to high internal, but we each have a tendency tolean in one direction or the other.

Locus of responsibility accompanies locus of controland refers to our belief concerning how much responsibil-ity we think we bear. A high internal locus of responsibilitymeans we believe we are basically responsible for our ac-tions and the effects on those around us. A high externallocus of responsibility places blame on other people andexternal events for our situations. Persons with a high ex-ternal locus of responsibility not only fix the blame on ex-ternal factors and people when things go wrong, they alsofind it hard to accept praise for a job well done and insteadattribute it to luck when things go well.

Belief Scenarios.—Four possible belief scenarios arecreated when these 2 loci are combined. It is possible tohave people with a high external control and high externalresponsibility; a high internal control and high external re-sponsibility; a high external control and low externalresponsibility; or a low internal control and low external re-sponsibility. People who have a high external locus of con-trol and a high internal locus of responsibility are usuallynot happy, may be stressed, and could be wondering howto cope with the future. Dentists can fall into this category.

Response.—It is important to recognize that where wethink we are is a function of our perceptions and beliefs.Changing beliefs changes our perception of the control wehave. With a changed perception, we change our reality. Soone way to handle stress is to recognize that we are in con-trol of much of our time as a result of the choices we make.

Grace M: Who’s in control? Br Dent J 197:223, 2004

Reprints available from M Grace; e-mail: m.grace@bda.org

Clinical Significance.—This brief but in-sightful editorial presents useful suggestionsto control and reduce the stress we perceivein our lives. Anyone interested in havingless stress?

136 Dental Abstracts

HANDS ON

BehaviorWhat we perceive is what we get