Consultant experience and attributions in school consultation.

Hypothesized that experienced school psychologists would be more flexible than inexperienced school psychologists in their attributions of responsibility for outcome of consultation. Responses from 56 members of a state school psychological association were analyzed for attributions of responsibility for outcome to the consultee, to the consultant, and to other factors. Results fail to support the hypothesis. Regardless of consultation success or failure, Ss attributed responsibility for consultation outcome mostly to the consultee. Experienced psychologists, however, were more likely than inexperienced psychologists to attribute responsibility for outcome to teachers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Naturally acquired learned helplessness: The relationship of school failure to achievement behavior, attributions, and self-concept.

Monitored personality and behavioral consequences of learned helplessness in children who had experienced extensive failure in school. Controlling for sex, race, age, and IQ, 3 groups of 20 9–12 yr old males (failing, average, and remedial) performed an experimental task and responded to questionnaires on self-concept and attributions for success and failure. To compare the predictive quality of learned helplessness theory with that of value expectancy theories, Ss were assigned to 1 of 2 reinforcement conditions (prediction of academic success and this prediction plus monetary reward) on a maze task. As predicted by value expectancy theories, failing Ss were significantly more persistent in the monetary reward condition than in the prediction of academic success condition. In agreement with learned helplessness theory, low self-concept was predicted independently and significantly by school failure, internal attributions for failure, and external attributions for success. (20 ref) (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)     

Methylphenidate and attributions in boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

In Exp 1, 28 attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) boys underwent a double-blind, placebo-controlled medication assessment in a summer day-treatment program. Daily, boys were asked questions to assess their attributions for and evaluations of their behavior. Objective measures showed improved behavior with methylphenidate; however, boys tended to attribute their performance to effort rather than to medication, particularly when medicated. Exp 2 involved 38 ADHD boys the following summer and replicated the procedures in Exp 1, with the addition of a no-pill condition and a comparison of attributions for success and failure outcomes. Simply taking a pill (no-pill vs placebo comparison) did not show significant effects, whereas the results of Exp 1 were replicated with placebo–methylphenidate comparisons. Across drug conditions a self-enhancing attributional pattern was obtained; the majority of attributions for success were to ability or effort, whereas attributions for failure were to the pill or to counselors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-serving bias in the classroom: Who shows it? Who knows it?

Two studies were conducted to explore student and teacher attributions for success and failure. In the first study, college students were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 roles (student, teacher, or observer). The teacher constructed a written lesson for the student to study. Both teachers and students made self-serving attributions taking credit for success, but not for failure. Although their attributions differed, participants in each role were aware of how participants in the other roles would make their attributions. A second study surveyed college teachers, students, and staff concerning actual previous high and low grades. The results replicated those of the first study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affect as a determinant of egotism: Residual excitation and performance attributions.

Investigated the influence of outcome-related affect on subsequent causal attributions. After working on a social skills test, 66 male college students engaged in physical exercise. Ss were given success or failure feedback on the test 1, 5, or 9 min after the exercise. Excitation transfer theory suggests that the residual arousal from the exercise in the 5-min condition would elevate the positive and negative affective states elicited by success–failure feedback. Thus, increased attributional egotism in the 5-min condition was predicted. Findings show that Ss preferred internal factors to explain success, whereas external factors were blamed for failure. Ego-defensive attributions following failure and ego-enhancing attributions following success were more pronounced in the 5-min condition than in the other conditions. Results support the idea that outcome-related affect mediates egotistical performance attributions. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outcome and attributional disagreements between students and their teachers.

Teachers' and students' outcome interpretations, attributions for the outcome, expectancies of future exam outcome, and perceptions concerning instrumental actions were compared after a math exam. One third of the students disagreed with their teacher about whether the exam outcome was a success or a failure; teachers evaluated the outcomes more positively than did students. When the students and the teachers agreed on the outcome interpretation, their mean attributional ratings did not apparently differ. However, ratings of teacher–student dyads revealed considerable attributional differences. After perceived failure, the dyadic attributional disagreements were related to disagreements concerning the instrumental actions needed for future success. Also, given failure, the more discrepant the dyad members' views of the stability of the attributions were, the more discrepant were their future expectations. Disagreements between students and teachers concerning outcome evaluation, causal perception, and future expectancy are discussed in terms of students' and teachers' biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and the control of HIV-1 replication

The present study examined the effect of perceived problem-solving ability (self-identified effective and ineffective) operationalized by Heppner and Petersen's Problem Solving Inventory (PSI) and random feedback (success vs. failure) on participants' attributions. A total of 30 female and 30 male teacher trainees who had scored in the top and bottom distribution of the PSI dealt with three unexpected classroom disruptions during a lecture presentation. After their presentation, they received randomized feedback concerning their performance during disruptions. Following feedback, they completed Baumgardner's Attribution Questionnaire (AQ). Results indicated a significant PSI x Feedback interaction for ability and effort but not for task difficulty and luck. Perceived efficacious problem solvers' internal attributions depended on whether they received success or failure feedback. Similar to the self-enhancing tendency reported in the literature, this group attributed success versus failure more to ability and effort. The perceived ineffective problem solvers' attributions did not differ based on the feedback they received. Results are discussed in terms of prior research and theory.     

Clients, roles, and functions of the school psychologist.

The basic credo held by American school psychologists is that of child advocacy. Yet, with most school psychologists being employed by local school systems—where administrators often place institutional needs over individual student needs—the practitioner role is usually conflict-laden. Even though the preferred practitioner role is generally direct service to children through counseling or indirect student help via teacher consultation or parent counseling, at this time the school practitioner's major role in many settings is that of "gate keeping," which involves testing and certifying pupil eligibility for special education. If we look forward to the time when inappropriate gatekeeping—that is, formally labeling the mildly handicapped as eligible for special education—is eliminated, other functions performed must be strengthened and made more desirable to make the role of the school psychologist more viable. In addition to competent counseling skills, the ability to provide effective teacher consultation within schools is essential, not only for dealing with behavior, but instruction as well. The upgrading of school psychologists' skills is essential to ensure that, regardless of possible conflicts engendered, there will be at least one highly skilled child advocate working in the schools. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences in parents' and their grown children's perceptions of parenting.

A 2–5 factorial between-Ss experiment was conducted, with level of success, sex of stimulus parent, sex of stimulus child, sex of respondent, and generation as the 5 independent variables. 139 undergraduates and their parents of the same sex served as Ss. The overall performance rating, the attributions made to explain parenting success/failure, and the ratings made both of the stimulus parent and of the stimulus child on the same 60 personality items were the dependent variables. The present study replicated one of the principal findings of attribution research: that males are more given to explaining failure in terms of external factors. Males of both generations made greater use of the factor Child's Fault in explaining parenting failure than did females. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of methylphenidate and expectancy on performance, self-evaluations, persistence, and attributions on a social task in boys with ADHD.

This study examined the effects of 0.3 mg/kg methylphenidate (MPH) and expectancy regarding medication on the performance and persistence of 137 boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a get-acquainted dyadic interaction with a peer, using a balanced-placebo design. Boys in 4 groups—administered placebo or MPH crossed with being told they received placebo or MPH—interacted with child confederates in experimental situations in which social success and failure were manipulated. In contrast with studies of academic persistence, MPH did not affect boys' task persistence or performance. Boys gave more positive self-evaluations and talked more in the success condition as compared with the failure condition. Boys attributed success to effort and ability and failure to task difficulty, and neither MPH nor expectancy affected this pattern. These findings are consistent with other studies in failing to find debilitating effects of MPH or medication expectancies on ADHD boys' attributions or self-evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A look inside school-based consultation: A qualitative study of the beliefs and practices of school psychologists and teachers.

Presents the results of a qualitative study of 4 school psychologists' and 4 teachers' beliefs about causes of student behavior problems and their relation to preferred treatment, teachers' perceived role(s) in consultation, and beliefs about the process and efficacy of consultation. Data were triangulated across 6 sources: 3 interview series with various participants, consultative interactions between the school psychologists and teachers, training sessions during which the school psychologists were trained in consultation, and a consultant questionnaire. Thematic analyses of the data produced 4 themes: (1) impact of causal attributions on beliefs about treatment needed; (2) combination of direct and indirect services; (3) impact of etiological beliefs and academic standards on perceptions of academic success; and (4) support within the consultative relationship. These themes are described and discussed in the context of the dyads studied. Suggestions for future research generated by this study are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consultants' perceptions of causality for success and failure of consultation.

Investigated the causal attribution made by consultants with regard to successful and unsuccessful consultation experiences. 164 school psychologists (mean age 32.1 yrs) were asked to consider their consultation experiences with teachers, select the most and least successful cases they could remember, and then state why they felt each case succeeded or failed. Consultants attributed both success and failure experiences more to characteristics of the consultee than to any other cause, with consultee characteristics considered a greater contributing factor to the failure rather than the success experiences. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure of causes for success and failure: A multidimensional scaling analysis of preference judgments.

Investigated whether B. Weiner's (1979) model of causal attributions applies to perceptions of the causes for success and failure. Instead of the usual similarity judgments, preference judgments were used to reveal the dimensions underlying these perceptions. Female subjects, randomly assigned to a success or failure condition, made preference judgments with regard to 12 causes for success or failure. Multidimensional scaling analysis uncovered internality, stability, and excusability dimensions, thus supporting Weiner's model at least partly. In addition, differences in the relative emphasis given to the dimensions were found between the success and failure conditions: Following success, the internality dimension was the most salient, whereas after failure the stability and excusability dimensions were the most important. Furthermore, after success subjects preferred more internal causes and more causes that seem inappropriate as an excuse. After failure, subjects chose more external and more excusable causes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in learned helplessness: IV. An experimental and naturalistic study of failure generalization and its mediators.

Tested the hypothesis that attributions for failure can mediate the generalization of failure effects across situations: When perceived causal factors remain present in otherwise novel situations, failure effects should transfer; when perceived causal factors are removed, failure effects should be attenuated. Specifically, it was predicted that sex differences in attributions would result in differential transfer to novel situations, with boys showing greater recovery of success expectancies when the evaluator changes, but girls showing greater recovery of success when the ability areas change. Two studies are reported: one a field study (40 female and 40 male 5th graders) examining changes in expectancy of academic success over the school year, and the other a laboratory analog (171 female and 143 male 4th–6th graders) examining directly the effects of evaluator and task change. Results provide strong support for the hypothesis and suggest an explanation for sex differences in long-term academic achievement. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher preferences for service delivery: A look at attribution research.

Reviews the literature on teacher attributions and discusses the relevance of causal attributions to teacher preferences for service delivery (i.e., referral for psychoeducational assessment, consultation). Literature is reviewed in the context of B. Weiner's (see record 1979-28688-001) proposed dimensions of causality. In addition, practical implications for this literature are discussed, and future research endeavors exploring the relationship between causal attributions and preferences for service delivery are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sequential attributional feedback and children's achievement behaviors.

Determined how the sequence of ability and effort attributional feedback influenced task motivation, attributions for success, self-efficacy, and skillful performance in 80 elementary school Ss (aged 8 yrs 2 mo to 10 yrs 5 mo) in 2 experiments. In Exp I, 40 Ss lacking subtraction skills received training and problem-solved over 4 sessions. During the problem solving, Group 1 (ability-ability) periodically received ability feedback; Group 2 (effort-effort) received little effort feedback; Group 3 (ability-effort) was given ability feedback during the 1st 2 sessions and effort feedback during the last 2; Group 4 (effort-ability) had this sequence reversed. In Exp II, 40 Ss (chosen with the same criteria as in Exp I) followed the same procedures except they were asked about their perceptions of success or failure following training. Results for both experiments show that Ss in Groups 1 and 3 developed higher ability attributions, self-efficacy, and subtraction skills compared with Ss in Groups 2 and 4. The sequence of attributional feedback did not differentially affect motivation, effort attributions, or perceptions of training successes. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions of learning disabled children.

Two studies compared learning disabled (LD) and normally achieving (NA) children's attribution patterns of success and failure in achievement and in social situations. In Study 1, 37 LD and 67 NA 7th and 8th graders were interviewed about attributions for hypothetical success–failure situations. 75 LD and 30 NA Ss (aged 9–17 yrs) from private schools were interviewed about attributions for real-life ratings of success in Study 2. NA Ss in both studies followed the expected pattern of attributing success more internally and failure (or less success) more externally. LD Ss attributed success to internal factors as well, but in both studies they also externalized success more than did the NA Ss. In their attributions for failure (or less success), the LD Ss in both studies did not follow the expected pattern. It is concluded that attributional differences between the LD Ss may reflect differences in self-esteem, expectations, and uncertainty. Careful reconsideration of the potentially negative consequences of attributional retraining of children with learning problems is recommended. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)