Langer and Rodin (1976) as well as Schultz (1976) conducted field experiments in which nursing home residents were provided more control over their situations
Unlike Langer and Rodin, however, Schultz and Hanusa (1978) later found that those elderly participants who had earlier been allowed to schedule visits with college students actually had more health problems and higher mortality rates than those participants who had never had control over the visits. Explain these apparently contradictory findings.
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: Perceived control is not enough to ensure adequate coping if that control is later taken away. Whereas Langer and Rodin (1976) provided a sense of control that continued after the study was completed, Schultz (1976) introduced a temporary intervention. Schultz's studies suggest that perceived control is so powerful that researchers should be careful not to take it away when the study is over.
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