Locus of control refers to how a person perceives the cause of life events. Someone with an internal locus of control would generally perceive himself or herself as responsible for certain occurrences (his or her actions would have a direct bearing on the result). On the other hand, a person with an external locus of control would most often blame (or thank) fate, destiny, luck, society or some other force beyond his or her control.

Different people credit different forces for life events such as personal successes and failures. For example, if a struggling salesperson receives a good amount of leads for potential clients, only to be rejected time and time again, he might blame his own lack of ability ("I'm a terrible salesperson" or "Nobody likes my pitch"). In this case, his locus of control for his failures would be internal. However, if one day, this same salesperson found a client who was interested in his product/service, he might place this success on circumstances beyond his control. He might not believe that his own sales presentation, talent, hard work, or exceptional persistence got him the sale, but would rather make rationalizations against his own effort ("The client probably would have bought from anyone" or "Gosh, that was a stroke of luck"). When it comes to success, he believes that he has no say in what happens - he is merely a helpless participant in a fate determined by random circumstances. Evidently, one can have a different locus of control for personal successes than for personal failures.

Intricately entwined in one's locus of control is the attribution style. Attribution style determines whether an individual attributes successes and failures to internal or external, stable or unstable forces. For example, a student who scores low on her SATs might feel that she was particularly fatigued that day. She attributes her failure to unstable internal forces, which suggests that if she were given another try, she might not be so tired, and thus would hopefully receive a higher score.

There is a certain tried-and-true recipe for coping with the challenges and stresses of life. In fact, research has shown that in academics, athletics, and other competitive fields, a particular locus of control is more likely to encourage achievement. Overall, it is best to attribute successes in life to stable internal forces. For example, a public speaker who concludes his first speech to uproarious applause would do best to thank his own orating abilities, writing skills, and sense of humor. He would also benefit by believing that he could do it again if he had to.

When it comes to failures, however, it is wise to adopt another strategy. Those who feel that they fell on their face (figuratively speaking) due to unstable and even external forces tend to be better off. For example, it is healthiest for an athlete to blame a slight headache or tension (both are unstable internal forces), poor weather conditions, or bad shoes (both are unstable external forces) for coming up short of the mark. By doing so, the athlete is maintaining a fundamental confidence in her own abilities, since presumably the headache will go away, she can relax, wear different shoes, or the conditions will be better next time. With a basic faith in her capability, she will feel motivated to try again. In short, it is important to internalize success, but NOT failure.

Unfortunately, there are limitations. While it is best for a person to thank her own talent and abilities for success and to blame failure on something out of her control, it is also important to remain firmly grounded. It is of no benefit for a person to miss out on learning from mistakes because he/she consistently blames society or bad luck for her failures. Nor is it useful to be totally blind to personal limitations or lack of effort. There are obvious advantages to realizing where a person might have come up short in an instance of failure; he/she can go about fixing the problem in order to heighten the probability of success the next time. To find this balance, one needs a healthy sense of self and a reasonable grasp on reality.

It is possible that Mary does not have the same orientation in all areas of her life. Perhaps she has always felt in control of her academics and is confident about her intellectual ability, but feels that building good relationships with clients is not within her personal power. her test results will provide information about her locus of control in a variety of areas.