Internal Locus of Control and Knowledge of Etiquette as Antecedents to Business Attire Affect: An Exploratory Study into Causal Relationships
John R. Tanner, David S. Baker, Geoffrey T. Stewart, Thomas Noser

Abstract
This study measured student self-perceptions of business etiquette knowledge and internal locus of control associated to positive feelings (affect) of wearing business attire. Higher Internal Locus of Control, or positive feelings associated with individual control over events surrounding one’s life, was most strongly associated with Business Attire Affect (β=.696, p<.05). Thus, the more individually in control of their life a student felt, the better they also felt when wearing business attire. The results of this study confirm the implication that student’s higher perceptions of control over their own behavior or personal characteristics reinforce an outcome of higher affect. Higher affect toward business attire was significantly predictable as a consequence of higher internal locus of control and not a function of chance, luck, or fate, which would be associated with higher external locus of control.

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