Explored college students' (n=104) employment of meaning through cognitive strategies in retention task in terms of attributional assignment and/or divergent thinking. Students were randomly assigned to either list of nonsense syllables or nonrelated words. Found no relationship among attributional assignment, divergent thinking, and retention.…

Motivation of band members was tested by asking them a series of questions related to whether they ever challenged for chair positions and their satisfaction with their present placement and skill. Concludes failure and lack of satisfaction with one's current level of performance resulted in fewer challenges and external attributions of success.…

This study examined the degree to which change in examination preparation for graduate statistics was related to measures of attribution, expectancy, prior performance, perceived success/failure, and satisfaction. Performance was the single best predictor of change in preparation. Three attribution measures and satisfaction contributed unique…

This study tests the hypothesis that student attributions of the causes of success on their examinations (ability, extra help, and extra effort) depends upon the test type (objective, problems, or essay). Findings supported the hypothesis. (AM)

This study was designed to validate subjects' classification of eleven attributions according to dimensions of locus, stability, controllability, predictability, and globality. Results indicated that subjects' dimensional assignment of five of Weiner's eight original attributions differed from Weiner's assignment. Differences existed in the…

The purpose of this study was to expand the previous limited locus of control focus of gender differences cross-nationally by shifting to an attributional model for both successes and failures in both achievement and affiliation domains in order to test the hypothesis that women differ from men in their attributional patterns for achievement and…

Examines four individual causal attributions (ability, effort, context, and luck) for success and failure in social affilation. Both an internal-external dimension and a stable-unstable dimension were used. Subjects were 684 university students from India, Japan, South Africa, United States, and Yugoslavia. (Author/MP)

Examined attributes for success and failure in achievement and affiliation domains among college students from several countries to determine whether gender differences are associated with cultural variations. Found (1) statistically significant differences between males and females in attributing achievement to tasks and (2) insignificant…

This study examined four causal attributions (ability, effort, task difficulty and luck) for success and failure in achievement and affiliation contexts across five countries (U.S., South Africa, Japan, India, and Yugoslavia) in three subject majors: teacher training, social science, and science. Each 5x2x3x2 analysis of variance assessed the…

The strategies college students use to retain material that is low in meaningfulness were studied. Participants were 149 undergraduate teacher-training students in human development and learning classes. Students randomly received and were asked to memorize one of three 15-item lists: nonsense syllables, unrelated words, or related words. A brief…

The objective of this study was to empirically validate West Germans' classifications of 11 attributions according to dimensions of locus, stability, controllability, predictability, and globality. The West German sample was then compared to an American sample. It is believed that West Germans and Americans develop different beliefs about the…

The following hypotheses are being tested in a study of retention by college students of material low in meaningfulness: (1) divergent thinkers will recall more items from a nonsense syllable list and a non-related word list than will non-divergent thinkers because divergent thinkers spontaneously verbally mediate; (2) participants who retain more…

Undergraduate students in sociology (N=59) and psychology (N=50) participated in a study at a large midwestern university to determine if the pattern of attributional assignment, expectancy, performance, and perceived success was different in these two groups of undergraduates. Prior to taking the first of three exams each student was asked how…

Beliefs about the causes of success and failure in academic achievement were compared for students in the United States and Israel. The following 11 attributions were placed randomly in a questionnaire format: (1) mood; (2) skill; (3) knowledge; (4) chance; (5) effort; (6) competence; (7) help; (8) ability; (9) task; (10) bias; and (11) luck. Each…

The classifications of 11 attributions according to dimensions of locus, stability, controllability, predictability, and globality by participants in 7 countries (China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Spain, and the United States) were compared in a cross-cultural study. The attributions were: (1) bias; (2) help; (3) luck; (4) ability; (5)…