Does Locus of Control Equal Agency?

Locus of control - sense of control over one’s life and external environment- is inextricably linked with people’s ability to change their circumstances to their advantage. This fact has become so well-established in science that locus of control and agency are often used interchangeably. This paper suggests that previous results were associated with particular research settings that cannot always be generalized. Alternatively, we argue that the feeling of control over one’s life could be rooted in conservative behavior and avoidance of risky agentic strategies. Using WVS cross-country data we show that the link between locus of control and conservative behavior has a U-shaped form, while the optimal level of locus of control depends on the degree of environmental uncertainty.