ABSTRACT
The quality of internal controls depends upon consistency in emotional attitudes, by which the child builds up an understanding of the moods, feelings, and motives of others. The basis for the development of inner controls, and the meaning of the most tenaciously held controls during which the child is virtually confined to the family circle. Some societies seem to maintain their customary controls better than others in the face of various vicissitudes, such as emigration. This may depend upon patterns of family organization or cultural patterns of external control determined by religious belief and other factors. In considering the concept of internal and external controls most important to realize that there are individual and cultural aspects of both kinds of control. Some of the most interesting observations upon the influence of culture on personality development have come from the anthropologist.
