APA Dictionary of Psychology

the circumstance in which a person or group has absolute control over the fate or outcomes of another person or group. Fate control exists when the other’s behavior plays no role in determining what outcomes are to be received. This is in contrast to behavior control, in which the other’s behavior does affect outcomes and the other is induced to behave in the desired direction. Fate control can, under certain circumstances, induce learned helplessness. [introduced by Harold H. Kelley and John W. Thibaut in their interdependence theory]