24 Male and 36 Female students worked at a 15-item anagrams task and provided confidence ratings before each item. 1/2 failed the 1st 5 items and - succeeded. 1/2 of the SS were high in external control (ED), 1/2 were low in external control (IC). Results indicate: (1) ss solved more anagrams after initial success than failure, (2) EC SS had a lower frequency of typical changes in confidence ratings than IC SS, (3) SS whose confidence ratings increased a lot after uniform success or decreased a lot after uniform failure subsequently performed better than SS whose confidence ratings changed a little, and (4) subsequent performance was positively related to initial confidence among SS who initially failed, and negatively related for those who initially succeeded. Results are discussed in terms of locus of control research, achievement motivation theory, and effects of inconsistency between initial confidence and actual performance.