Locus of control measures the degree to which people believe that they have control over the outcome of life events. An internal believes success or failure is a result of individual abilities, efforts, or decisions. On the other hand, an external believes success or failure is largely out of one’s own control. The notion that locus of control could explain financial advice seeking is intuitive, although the direction of this relationship is unclear. Externals could be more likely to seek financial advice as they believe that they are unable to control financial outcomes and therefore seek the help of an advisor. Conversely, externals could be less likely to seek advice if they believe that financial outcomes are determined by external forces outside both their own and an advisor’s control.
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