Tyler's Model of Psychosocial Competence: A Comparison of Iranian and Lebanese Students

n order to assess differences in intercorrelation coef- ficients among the three components of proactive co- ping, external locus of control, and attitude towards the world 172 Iranian students (50 male, 122 female) and 146 Lebanese students (66 male, 80 female) responded to the Psychosocial Competence Scale (Tyler, 1978), Rotter ’s In- ternal and External Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966) and Rotter Trust Scale (1967). Findings revealed that in the Lebanese sample, with the rise in external locus of control and a more positive attitude towards the world, proactive coping decreased whereas in the Iranian sample higher ex- ternal locus of control was coupled with lower proactive coping. The relationship between external locus of control and attitude towards the world was insignificant in both groups but this coefficient was significantly larger for the Iranian group. Differences in social and political structur- es of the two countries are discussed as the main reason be- hind these findings.