Everyday Life Questionnaire


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Your Expectations About Everyday Events in Your Life
 
This survey is a bit different than the usual GVU survey. In addition to learning how people use the Web, we are also interested in learning people's perceptions of and involvement in events affecting their everyday life, from political issues to workplace preferences.
 
We believe that understanding Web users' perceptions of their surroundings will help us better understand how the Web fits into the life of its denizens. In many ways, the Web is a world of its own, and we are interested in how your expectations and beliefs about the "real world" relate to your responses to questions in the other GVU surveys you have filled out that deal with the Web itself.
 
Below you will find a series of statements, some of which may seem very similar to each other. Please read each statement carefully and respond to it by expressing the extent to which you believe the statement applies to you. By "apply to you" we mean how well each statement describes your personality, your beliefs and your preferences.
 
There are 57 questions in this survey.
 
 
 
1) I prefer a job where I have a lot of control over what I do and when I do it.
 
 
2) Whether or not I get to be a leader depends mostly on my ability.
 
 
3) I am often a leader in groups.
 
 
4) When I get what I want, it's usually because I worked hard for it.
 
 
5) I enjoy political participation because I want to have as much say in running government as possible.
 
 
6) To a great extent my life is controlled by accidental happenings.
 
 
7) I can usually organize people to get things done.
 
 
8) I try to avoid situations where someone else tells me what to do.
 
 
9) I feel like what happens in my life is mostly determined by powerful people.
 
 
10) Other people usually follow my ideas.
 
 
11) I would prefer to be a leader rather than a follower.
 
 
12) Whether or not I get into a car accident depends mostly on how good a driver I am.
 
 
13) I find it very hard to talk in front of a group.
 
 
14) I enjoy being able to influence the actions of others.
 
 
15) When I make plans, I am almost certain to make them work.
 
 
16) I would rather not try something I'm not good at.
 
 
17) In order to have my plans work, I make sure that they fit in with the desires of people who have power over me.
 
 
18) I am careful to check everything on an automobile before I leave for a long trip.
 
 
19) Often there is no chance of protecting my personal interest from bad luck happenings.
 
 
20) Sometimes politics and government seem so complicated that a person like me can't really understand what's going on.
 
 
21) Others usually know what is best for me.
 
 
22) When I get what I want, it's usually because I'm lucky.
 
 
23) I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the important political issues which confront our society.
 
 
24) I enjoy making my own decisions.
 
 
25) Although I might have good ability, I will not be given leadership responsibility without appealing to those in positions of power.
 
 
26) People like me are generally well qualified to participate in the political activity and decision making in our country.
 
 
27) I enjoy having control over my own destiny.
 
 
28) How many friends I have depends on how nice a person I am.
 
 
29) It hardly makes any difference who I vote for because whoever gets elected does whatever he/she wants to do anyway.
 
 
30) I would rather someone else took over the leadership role when I'm involved in a group project.
 
 
31) I have often found that what is going to happen will happen.
 
 
32) There are plenty of ways for people like me to have a say in what our government does.
 
 
33) My life is determined by my own actions.
 
 
34) I consider myself to be generally more capable of handling situations than others are.
 
 
35) My life is chiefly controlled by powerful others.
 
 
36) So many other people are active in local issues and organizations that it doesn't matter much to me whether I participate or not.
 
 
37) I'd rather run my own business and make my own mistakes than listen to someone else's orders.
 
 
38) Whether or not I get into a car accident is mostly a matter of luck.
 
 
39) Most public officials wouldn't listen to to me no matter what I did.
 
 
40) I like to get a good idea of what a job is all about before I begin.
 
 
41) People like myself have very little chance of protecting our personal interests when they conflict with those of strong pressure groups.
 
 
42) A good many local elections aren't important enough to bother with.
 
 
43) It's chiefly a matter of fate whether or not I have few friends or many friends.
 
 
44) When I see a problem I prefer to do something about it rather than sit by and let it continue.
 
 
45) It's not always wise for me to plan too far ahead because many things turn out to be a matter of good or bad fortune.
 
 
46) When it comes to orders, I would rather give them than receive them.
 
 
47) Getting what I want requires pleasing those people above me.
 
 
48) I wish I could push many of life's daily decisions off on someone else.
 
 
49) Whether or not I get to be a leader depends on whether I'm lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.
 
 
50) When driving, I try to avoid putting myself in situations where I could be hurt by someone else's mistake.
 
 
51) If important people were to decide they didn't like me, I probably wouldn't make any friends.
 
 
52) I prefer to avoid situations where someone else has to tell me what it is I should be doing.
 
 
53) I can pretty much determine what will happen in my life.
 
 
54) There are many situations in which I would prefer only one choice rather than having to make a decision.
 
 
55) I am usually able to protect my personal interests.
 
 
56) I like to wait and see if someone else is going to solve a problem so that I don't have to be bothered by it.
 
 
57) Whether or not I get into a car accident depends mostly on the other driver.
 
 
 
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Please add any comments here.

Survey items are from:
Burger, Jerry M. and Harris M. Cooper (1979), Motivation and Emotion, 3, 381-393.
Levenson, Hanna (1974), Journal of Personality Assessment, 38, 377-383.
Zimmerman, Marc A. and James H. Zahniser (1991), Journal of Community Psychology, 19 (April), 189-204.