Locus of control and involvement in videogaming

An external locus of control (feeling low personal control over one’s life) has been linked with excessive/addictive behaviours, including problematic videogaming. The current study sought to determine whether this is driven by the opportunity for greater control over one’s environment within a videogame. Participants (n？=？252, 59% males) completed a traditional locus of control scale, alongside a modified version assessing in-game feelings of control. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that feeling less under the control of powerful others in-game than in the real world was a significant predictor of gaming frequency (standardised β？=？.31, p？<？.0005), while feeling comparatively more internal control in-game than in real life significantly predicted problematic gaming (standardised β？=？.17, p？=？.02). This demonstrates that locus of control in-game can diverge from that experienced in the real world, and the degree of divergence could be a risk factor for frequent and/or problematic gaming in some individuals