To illustrate the need for careful analysis, discusses (1) intrapersonal versus interpersonal paradigms of intention and (2) differentiation between reason and cause and their joint consideration.(RH)

Investigations of the reformulated learned helplessness model of depression have produced conflicting results. To contrast the attributional responses of clinically depressed men and women, data were collected from 117 psychotherapy clinic outpatients. An expanded version of the Attribution Style Questionnaire was administered. Forty people…

Causal attribution theory, including the concept of learned helplessness, has been used to explain student motivation and achievement in school. In this paper, a model is developed which explains how attribution theory could explain student effort and achievement in mathematics. According to the model, student perceptions of success or failure in…

In analyzing various moral and legal philosophies, two perspectives emerge, absolute moral rules/higher law, and situationally-specific moral rules/legal positivism. From these two perspectives, four types of individuals emerge in accordance with their degree of adherence to ideological tenets: (1) situationists (high on idealism and relativism);…

This study compared 28 preadolescents, either with or without learning disabilities (LD). Students with LD had less effective monitoring skills, lower attributions to effort, and a wider range of depressive symptoms. Results are discussed in relation to Borkowski's model that relates behavioral patterns of children facing school tasks with…

Although it is commonly held that environmental, social, and psychological factors influence health, specific causal models of these influences are rarely tested directly. Methods of structural analysis were applied to the problem of the relationships among variables thought to influence the health status of college students. Data were collected…

Examines whether there are sex differences during middle childhood in children's choices to participate in activities differing in level of adult-provided structure; effects of structure on children's compliance, leadership, and recognition seeking directed to adults and to peers; and relation of sex-typed social skills or dispositions and…

This article presents a theoretical and testable model of psychological processes in child and adolescent victims of sexual abuse. It proposes that sexual abuse leads to shame through mediation of cognitive attributions which leads to poor adjustment. Three factors--social support, gender, and developmental period--are hypothesized to moderate the…

This study examined the applicability of a multicomponent model to understanding the bases of attitudes toward people with disabilities. The 108 students (65 females, 43 males) reported their attitudes toward three groups -- amputees, people with AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), and the chronically depressed. They also completed…

Second graders, fifth graders, and college students heard 12 stories that varied systematically by situational domain, outcome, and causal attribution. Students were asked to infer the story character's emotion at the end of the story and give reasons for it. Contributions and limitations of Weiner's attribution-emotion model are assessed in light…

A complex interactional model of classroom factors that contribute to the development of students' self-evaluations is presented. Factors described are: (1) task structure; (2) grouping practices; (3) feedback and evaluation procedures and information about ability; (4) motivational strategies; (5) locus of responsibility for learning; and (6) the…

Examines explanations used by children (ages five-14) to explain academic success and failure; frequency of their use; and developmental variations in types of explanations used. It was found that patterns of attribution categories vary by age, and that the attribution process involves a complex interaction of subjective and objective reality.…