On the flip side, one of the biggest reasons students have a difficult time staying motivated is because they underestimate their ability to control their situation. In psychology, the term used to describe this perception is called - "Locus of Control" which literally means - "place of control" and measures, on a scale, whether a person feels they they have control over most things in his or her life (internal locus of control - LOC) or, on the other side of the scale, (external locus of control - LOC) perceives events as happening outside of personal control.
As a result, people with a very external locus of control will often use phrases like "I'm just not self-disciplined enough to learn online", or " I can't learn from a computer - I have to have a teacher explain it in person", whereas, people with a very internal locus of control will tend to feel the weight of responsibility and often times feel guilty or depressed about not living up to their responsibilities.
