Evaluation of a programme for increasing the effectiveness of personal problem‐solving

Abstract

A programme was developed for training people to apply generic problem‐solving techniques to their personal problems. These are basic problem‐solving operations which, in principle, should be applicable to any specific problem. Sixty‐four male student volunteers were divided into sets of internals and externals, on the basis of pre‐test scores on the Rotter Internal‐External (I‐E) scale. They were assigned at random to a training group and a no‐training control group, and subjects in the training group attended a five‐week programme. Dependent measures included the standard of bachelor's degrees gained by subjects at graduation, the I‐E scale, and the neuroticism scale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. The two scales were administered one week and eight weeks after the programme. Results demonstrated that the training group achieved a higher standard in their bachelor's degrees, developed an increased belief in internal control and became more emotionally stable. There was no evidence of an interaction between locus of control and the effects of the programme.