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control-locus

Apply locus of control — the design choice between making the system appear to act on the user's behalf (external locus) and making the user appear to direct the system (internal locus). Use when designing AI-assisted features, autocorrect/autocomplete behaviors, recommendation surfaces, automated workflows, and any feature where the system could either do things automatically or wait for user instruction. Internal locus produces higher engagement, learning, and satisfaction; external locus produces higher convenience but lower agency. The skill is choosing deliberately and explaining the choice in the UI.

plugins/HDeibler/universal-design-principles/plugins/interaction-and-control-principles/skills/control-locus/SKILL.md

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# Control — locus

Locus of control is the perception of who is doing the doing. An *internal* locus of control means the user feels they are directing the system; an *external* locus means the user feels the system is directing them. Both can be useful depending on the task — but the choice has psychological consequences that often go unconsidered, especially in automated and AI-assisted features.

A well-designed system makes a deliberate choice about locus, usually shifting it depending on the task: internal for creative or judgment-intensive work, external for routine or expertise-deficient tasks. The same product can have different loci in different surfaces.

## Why locus matters

The psychological evidence is consistent. Users with a stable internal locus of control — across life, not just in software — report higher motivation, persistence, and satisfaction. Users with a stable external locus tend toward passivity and learned helplessness. While these are stable personality traits, *situational* locus is malleable, and software design can push it in either direction.

A product that does things on the user's behalf without asking — autocorrects their typing, autocategorizes their email, auto-generates recommendations — moves the situational locus toward external. Useful in moderation, this becomes problematic when overdone: users feel the product is doing the work and they're just observing. They lose the sense of authorship over the output. They learn less about the underlying system. They have less to point to as their own.

A product that waits for explicit user direction — asks for confirmation before acting, presents options without picking one, requires the user to invoke each capability — moves the locus toward internal. Useful when the user has expertise and judgment, this becomes burdensome when overdone: users feel they're doing all the work and the product is just a passive instrument. They get tired. They make errors that the product could have prevented. They wonder why the product doesn't help more.