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locus of control

a construct that is used to categorize people’s basic motivational orientations and perceptions of how much control they have over the conditions of their lives. People with an external locus of control tend to behave in response to external circumstances and to perceive their life outcomes as arising from factors out of their control. People with an internal locus of control tend to behave in response to internal states and intentions and to perceive their life outcomes as arising from the exercise of their own agency and abilities. [introduced into psychology by Julian Rotter]

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Psychology term of the day

January 30th 2025

trauma management therapy

trauma management therapy

a treatment program intended to alleviate the anxiety and fear, manage the anger, and enhance the interpersonal functioning of combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is a sequential multicomponent approach that combines (a) education, in which the client is informed about the symptom chronicity, skill deficits, and extreme social maladjustment associated with PTSD; (b) exposure therapy, in which the client reexperiences—in imagination or through virtual reality—his or her specific traumatic event during individually administered weekly sessions; (c) programmed practice, in which the client performs exposure-related homework assigned by the therapist; and (d) socioemotional rehabilitation, in which the client participates in structured, group-administered social and emotional skills training sessions. [developed in 1996 by clinical psychologists B. Christopher Frueh (1963–  ), Samuel M. Turner (1944–2005), Deborah C. Beidel, and Robert F. Mirabella and health administrator and political scientist Walter J. Jones]