Abstract
Locus of control and treatment condition were varied by a 4 × 2 factorial design to determine their effects on test anxiety. 85 adult males, coal company personnel enrolled in three Emergency Medical Technician I (EMT-I) classes, were initially placed into internal or external locus of control blocks by scores, and then randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) traditional desensitization, (b) self-control desensitization, and (c) a placebo control group. Scores of the no-treatment controls, sampled from a separate group of subjects, were also dichotomized into internal and external locus of control blocks, thus completing the 4 × 2 design. While the relative efficacy of the different treatments in alleviating anxiety was equivocal, certain significant differences concerning the attrition from various treatment by locus of control cells did surface. The implications are discussed.

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