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Differentiation of the Concepts of Luck and Skill.
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Nicholls, John G.; Miller, Arden T. – Developmental Psychology, 1985
Kindergarten through eighth-grade children were presented with two revisions (luck and skill) of the Matching Familiar Figures Test. Questioning about performance of hypothetical others revealed four levels of differentiation of luck and skill. These levels showed parallels with age-related changes in conceptions of difficulty, effort, and…
Descriptors: Adolescents, Age Differences, Attribution Theory, Children
The Development of the Concept of Difficulty.
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Nicholls, John G. – Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 1980
The central idea behind this study is that at about seven years of age the concept of normative difficulty emerges, resulting in changes in interpretation of terms such as "hard" and "easy," as well as of normative cues. (Author/DB)
Descriptors: Age Differences, Attribution Theory, Children, Cognitive Development
Effort Is Virtuous, But It's Better to Have Ability: Evaluative Responses to Perceptions of Effort and Ability
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Nicholls, John G. – Journal of Research in Personality, 1976
Descriptors: Ability, Attribution Theory, Charts, Evaluative Thinking
The Development of the Concepts of Effort and Ability, Perception of Academic Attainment, and the Understanding that Difficult Tasks Require More Ability.
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Nicholls, John G. – Child Development, 1978
Selected cognitive developments presumed to mediate the development of achievement motivation are described. Age trends for four causal schemes involving the concepts of effort and ability from 5 to 13 years of age are presented. Developments related to ability, task difficulty, and incentive value are also described. (Author/JMB)
Descriptors: Ability, Age Differences, Attribution Theory, Concept Formation
Development of Causal Attributions and Evaluative Responses to Success and Failure in Maori and Pakeha Children.
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Nicholls, John G. – Developmental Psychology, 1978
Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Academic Failure, Age Differences, Attribution Theory
Development of Perception of Own Attainment and Causal Attributions for Success and Failure in Reading.
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Nicholls, John G. – Journal of Educational Psychology, 1979
This study investigated age trends in children's explanations of their own academic successes and failures. Ability attributions for success and failure in reading were more effectively predicted by reading attainment in older than in younger children. Perception of own attainment was more accurate in older children. Sex differences were also…
Descriptors: Achievement Rating, Age Differences, Attribution Theory, Elementary Education
Assessing Students' Theories of Success in Mathematics: Individual and Classroom Differences.
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Nicholls, John G.; And Others – Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 1990
Assessed were second grade students to determine whether their beliefs about causes of success in mathematics were related to their personal goals in mathematics. One class that experienced mathematics instruction consistent with a constructivist view rated higher than traditional classes on Task Orientation, attempting to gain understanding.…
Descriptors: Attribution Theory, Beliefs, Elementary Education, Elementary School Mathematics
Conceptions of Ability and Related Affects in Task Involvement and Ego Involvement.
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Jagacinski, Carolyn M.; Nicholls, John G. – Journal of Educational Psychology, 1984
Five studies were conducted to determine if college students employ different conceptions of ability in self-referenced (task-involving) and interpersonally competitive (ego-involving) situations. Competence and positive affects were associated with higher effort in task-involving situations but negatively associated with higher effort in…
Descriptors: Ability, Affective Measures, Attribution Theory, Competence
Dimensions of Achievement Motivation in Schoolwork and Sport.
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Duda, Joan L.; Nicholls, John G. – Journal of Educational Psychology, 1992
Beliefs about causes of success in school and sports were related in a logical fashion to personal goals for 207 high school students. Satisfaction and boredom in the classroom were primarily predicted by personal goal orientations. In sports, satisfaction and boredom were more intimately linked to perceptions of ability. (SLD)
Descriptors: Ability, Academic Education, Achievement Need, Athletics
Conceptions of Ability.
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Jagacinski, Carolyn M.; Nicholls, John G. – 1982
Two different conceptions of ability are proposed. The first conception of ability is more differentiated and generally employed by adults and older children. Here ability level is defined with reference to the performance of others assuming that optimum effort was employed. High ability means higher than others. The second conception of ability…
Descriptors: Academic Ability, Academic Achievement, Achievement Need, Attribution Theory
Fifth Graders' Achievement Orientations and Beliefs: Individual and Classroom Differences.
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Thorkildsen, Theresa A.; Nicholls, John G. – Journal of Educational Psychology, 1998
Thirty classes of fifth graders (n=536) were surveyed to see if their criteria for academic success, beliefs about the causes of success, and perceptions of teachers' expectations involved the coordination of personal values and contextual norms. Beliefs about causes of success have some relation to personal identities and students'…
Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Achievement Need, Attribution Theory, Beliefs