Measuring causal attibutions for success and failure.

A great deal of research has been generated by the B. Weiner et al (1971) attribution model of achievement behavior. Although generally supportive of the model, the literature is marred by a lack of concern with the reliability and validity of the measurements used. In the present study, causal attributions for a manipulated success–failure event were collected from 252 college students on 5 measuring instruments. Results indicate that the open-ended response measure showed poorer interest correlation validity than did the structured measures. Rating scales showed a better fit to attribution conceptualizations than did the percentage method. Overall, scale measures seem to be the method of choice, although possible uses for open-ended measures of attributions are suggested. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and causal attributions for success and failure.

Investigated the effects of depression on causal attributions for success and failure. From a pool of 340 female university students, 60 were separated into depressed and nondepressed groups on the basis of Costello-Comrey Depression Scale scores, and then received either 20, 55, or 80% reinforcement on a word association task. Following the task, attributions were made for outcome using the 4 factors of effort, ability, task difficulty, and luck. In accord with predictions generated from a self-serving biases hypothesis, nondepressives made internal (ability, effort) attributions for a successful outcome (80% reinforcement) and external attributions (luck, task difficulty) for a failure outcome (20% reinforcement). As predicted from consideration of the self-blame component of depression, the attributions made by depressives for a failure outcome were personal or internal. Contrary to expectations, depressives also made internal attributions for a successful outcome. The findings for depressives are discussed in relation to the recently revised learned helplessness model of depression, which incorporates causal attributions. For nondepressives, the findings are considered in terms of the self-serving biases hypothesis. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher perceptions of consultation services provided by school psychologists.

Investigated the following questions: Do teachers prefer consultation or traditional testing services? Do teachers view the consultee role as one that is appropriate for their profession? Do consultation interactions result in increased professional skills for the consultee? 12 schools from a wide range of communities were provided with school psychology consultants for 14 wks. At the end of this time, teacher attitudes concerning the consultation process were assessed. Data analyses revealed that the 173 teachers reacted positively to the consultation services, placed a high priority on working along with school psychology consultants, and believed that their professional skills would improve as a function of consultation interactions. None of the results differed between schools as a function of gross demographic characteristics. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coordination success and interpersonal perceptions: Matching versus mismatching.

Coordination is an essential part of social functioning. The authors distinguish 2 types of coordination: matching and mismatching. In matching, coordination is successful if parties choose the same action. In mismatching, coordination is successful if people choose different actions. In 3 studies, the authors investigated the downstream social consequences of tacit coordination for interpersonal perceptions. In all studies, participants repeatedly choose between 2 bets with equivalent expected values, and payoffs increased either when they choose the same bet or when they choose different bets. In the 1st 2 studies, coordination success increased the perceptions of interpersonal similarity and liking when matching was required but not when mismatching was required. The authors' interpretation is that matching responses and coordination success had countervailing effects in the mismatching task. Also, percentage of matched responses did not affect perceptions when coordination was not required (Experiment 2). In 4 person teams, a frequently matching partner was viewed more favorably (smarter, more similar to self, and more liked) than were other teammates, even when mismatching increased payoffs (Experiment 3). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal study of marital success and failure.

Administered the Bentler Psychological Inventory, the Bentler Interactive Psychological Inventory, the Sexual Behavior Inventory, and a background questionnaire to 77 newly married couples. Four yrs later these couples were followed up to determine their marital status and satisfaction (the Locke and Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale and a rating scale of 19 potential marital problem areas). Findings indicate that (a) correlational similarity as well as mean differentiation between partners was higher in the still-married group than the divorced group; (b) accuracy of self-perception was marginally reflective of marital success; (c) living together before marriage had no apparent effect on the outcome of marriage; (d) divorced couples appeared to face qualitatively different problems than married couples; and (e) longitudinal prediction of marital adjustment was possible. It is suggested that variation in marital outcome is most accurately predicted from personality and not demographic variables, based largely on data from women. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and preference for self-focusing stimuli after success and failure.

Hypothesized that depressives, unlike nondepressives, do not find self-focus more aversive after failure than after success, and thus either (a) show no differential preference for self-focusing stimuli after success vs after failure (weak hypothesis) or (b) prefer self-focusing stimuli after failure over self-focusing stimuli after success (strong hypothesis). 36 female and 20 male undergraduate students, selected on the basis of their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory, were randomly assigned to outcome conditions in a 2?×?2 (nondepressed vs depressed?×?success vs failure) factorial design. Ss succeeded or failed on a supposed test of verbal intelligence and then worked on 2 sets of puzzles, 1 in the presence and 1 in the absence of a self-focusing stimulus (mirror). Results indicate that, whereas nondepressed Ss liked the mirror-associated puzzle more after success than after failure, depressed Ss did not; depressed Ss tended to like the mirror-associated puzzle more after failure than after success. Nondepressed Ss also exhibited a self-serving pattern of attributions, viewing the test as less valid and luck as more responsible for their performance after failure than after success; depressed Ss showed no such differences. Consistent with their failure to use defensive strategies, depressed Ss showed a decrease in self-esteem after failure; nondepressed Ss showed no such change. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' expectancies, participation in consultation, and perceptions of consultant helpfulness.

Administered a questionnaire assessing self-efficacy expectations for resolving classroom problems and expectancies so that consultation could assist 55 teachers in 3 elementary schools with same classroom problems. Subsequently, teachers had an opportunity to request consultation from an experienced, doctoral student-consultant. A significant negative relationship was found between teachers' self-efficacy expectancies and their expectancies that consultation would assist them. No significant relationships were found between self-efficacy and use of consultation or consultee evaluation of consultation. Teachers' initial outcome expectancies for consultation predicted teachers' subsequent evaluations of the consultant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's attributions for failure and success in different aspects of reading.

Investigated the attributions of 82 3rd graders and 82 6th graders for their success and failure in different reading situations with an extended set of causes (as a function of age and achievement differences). Ss were split into good and poor readers on the basis of a median split on the Reading Comprehension subtest of the California Test of Basic Skills. Ss reading achievement was then assessed in 2 reading situations (evaluation of reading performance and reading for meaning). Ss were asked to rate the degree to which each of 6 causes (ability, paying attention, studying, luck, task difficulty, and assistance from others) was responsible for their success or failure. Findings show that 6th graders' locus of control scores varied across situations, while 3rd graders' scores did not. Studying and paying attention were salient to Ss as causes. Age and achievement interacted, with low-achieving 3rd graders giving higher ratings to causes more clearly beyond their control than high-achieving 3rd graders, whereas low- and high-achieving 6th graders did not differ. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consistency of pupils' attributions regarding success and failure.

191 6th graders attending schools in 3 socioeconomic areas were asked to attribute to causes their success or failure on examinations administered in 3 subjects in the course of a trimester. The extent of consistency was measured between attributional patterns obtained from 2 tests in the same subject and between two tests in different subjects. Results show consistency in Ss' attributional patterns. It was found that consistency of attributional patterns was significantly greater when Ss received the same outcomes on the 2 tests (success or failure) than when different outcomes were received (success–failure or failure–success). (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic success among students at risk for school failure.

A sample of 1,803 minority students from low-income homes was classified into 3 groups on the basis of grades, test scores, and persistence from Grade 8 through Grade 12; the classifications were academically successful school completers ("resilient" students), school completers with poorer academic performance (nonresilient completers), and noncompleters (dropouts). Groups were compared in terms of psychological characteristics and measures of "school engagement." Large, significant differences were found among groups on engagement behaviors, even after background and psychological characteristics were controlled statistically. The findings support the hypothesis that student engagement is an important component of academic resilience. Furthermore, they provide information for designing interventions to improve the educational prognoses of students at risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of success and failure on cheating behavior.

Studied the relationship between cheating and previous success-failure experiences in 32 college students. Ss were informed that if they performed above average on a free-recall task they would receive bonus credit. Half of them were told their performance on a 1st test was poor and half were told that their initial performance was good. During a subsequent test, half of the words were left "carelessly" exposed so that Ss could copy them if they wished. Significant cheating occurred in the success but not in the failure condition, suggesting that failure following initial success may be more repugnant than failure following initial failure. Cheating elevated the number of recorded exposed words, while attention factors and/or arousal reduced recall of stored unexposed words. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-esteem and differential responsiveness to success and failure.

This investigation was based on the contention that high self-esteem persons are generally more responsive to success experience than to failure, while lows show the opposite effects. College students were divided into 4 groups, consisting of high or low self-esteem Ss, receiving success or failure treatments. The hypothesized interaction effect of self-esteem levels and treatments upon a measure of responsiveness, i.e., the degree to which the S attended to some aspects of the experimental condition, was demonstrated beyond the .05 level of significance and was considered supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reaction to failure as a function of expectancy for success.

The hypothesis that the strength of reaction to goal-response blocking is a positive monotonic function of expectancy for goal attainment was investigated. The Ss, 1119 6th-grade boys, responded to a buzzer by pushing a plunger. Failure produced an increase in the latency and a decrease in the force of pushing. Expectancy, measured by a betting technique, was nonmonotonically related to the increase in latency, Ss with intermediate expectancies showing the smallest increase. In 2 groups differing in experimentally manipulated expectancy, the high group showed the greater increase in latency. No reliable relationships were found between force and expectancy. Implications for theories of frustration produced drive and of risk taking were discussed. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes of schizophrenics and normals toward success and failure.

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that schizophrenics, as compared with normals, are relatively more highly motivated to avoid failure than to achieve success. A total of 291 Ss, including 136 hospitalized male schizophrenics, 103 normals, and--as a contrast group--52 neurotics, were administered the Success-Failure Inventory (SFI), a 22-item True-False instrument designed to assess attitudes toward success attainment and failure avoidance. As predicted, the schizophrenic samples manifested greater relative failure avoidance than the normals. Further, active schizophrenics evidenced greater relative failure avoidance than did remitted schizophrenics. Remitted schizophrenics and neurotics were not significantly different. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's attributions for success and failure: Effects of age and attentional focus.

This study was an assessment of how children's achievement attributions were influenced by their age, attentional focus, gender, and success or failure experience. Older and younger elementary school children performed a memory task under either self-focusing or task-focusing instructions. After performance, half of the children in each condition were given success feedback and the other half failure feedback. Attributions for performance were then obtained. In the success condition, children judged effort to be the most important cause of their performance, whereas children in the failure condition attributed their performance mostly to the difficulty of the task and their inability to remember the story. Older children in the self-focus condition attributed success more to internal causes than did older children in the task-focus condition. Younger children attributed both success and failure more to luck than did older children. Few sex differences in attributions were obtained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hope of success and fear of failure as aspects of need for achievement.

3 classes of Swarthmore freshmen were given a level-of-aspiration questionnaire designed to give an independent measure of the hope of success (HS) and fear of failure (FF) continuum. The relations between this measure and total n Achievement and various n Achievement subscores were investigated. The findings were: "(a) Students at the extremes of the continuum have lower n Achievement scores than students in the middle of the continuum. (b) In terms of positive subscores (goal imagery) on the n Achievement measure, the extremes have higher scores than subjects in the middle of the HS-FF continuum. (c) In terms of negative subscores (deprivation imagery) the middle group tends to score more highly in the extremes." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School psychologists' attributions for success and failure in consultations with parents and teachers.

Surveyed 234 practicing school psychologists routinely engaged in consultation to examine the types of consultation cases they would be most likely to view as successful or unsuccessful. Chi-square analysis of answers indicated a significantly greater number of attributions to the consultee in the failure condition in comparison with the success condition. Ss reported more failure in teacher consultation in comparison with parent or parent–teacher consultation. The issue of the accuracy of school psychologists' attributions of consultation success and failure is discussed as it relates to implications for consultation training and practice. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's causal attributions for success and failure in achievement settings: A meta-analysis.

Conducted a meta-analysis of 25 studies (1972–1981 [appended]) on children's attributions for success and failure to test the adequacy of the egotistic bias hypothesis (that attributions are more internal for success and more external for failure) for children in Grades 1–7. Variations in the wording of attributional questions and the research context were also included as factors in the meta-analysis. Results provide support for the egotism hypothesis and indicate that both question wording and research context are important determinants of children's attributions. In general, the egotism effect was supported more for informational than for the more traditional causal wording of the attribution questions. No effects were found for grade level. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Turning selective attention failure into selective attention success.

In a letter identification task in which a centrally-presented letter is to be attended and laterally-flanking letters ignored, B. A. and C. W. Eriksen (1974) have shown effects on performance of the to-be-ignored letters when they contain information about the correct response. These data constitute important evidence of late selection for attention on condition that the flankers are not, in fact, attended. Three experiments with 168 undergraduates assessed the importance of task practice, positional uncertainty (PU) regarding the flankers, PU regarding the target, the proportion of flankers in a display that contain information about the response, and the strength of the target-response mapping. The effect of flankers on performance was independent of target PU and strength of target-response mapping, but varied with practice on the task, flanker-PU, and proportion of informative flankers. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)