Research has found a relation between motivation and attributions for success and failure. However, few studies have clarified the relationship of attributions to school achievement and possible cultural differences in this relationship. To investigate this issue, 5333 secondary students (European, Asian, Maori, Pacific) rated four common…

To examine students' causal judgements of positive mood in relation to self-regulation, 128 participants from two different schools representing two distinct educational environments (Technical/Vocational School (TSO/BSO): N = 63; General Secondary School (ASO): N = 65) were asked to judge 45 statements containing three possible relationships (A…

Although studies on self-efficacy and attribution have independently contributed to the motivation literature, these two constructs have rarely been considered together in the domain of foreign language learning. Here, 500 undergraduates in Spanish, German, and French courses were asked to report whether test scores represented a successful or…

An investigation was conducted to determine whether a self-instructional method of attribution training could effectively alter academic task persistence and effort attributions for success and failure. Results indicated that experimental groups of students receiving self-instructional attribution training evidenced significant differences from…

This study examined the effects of performance patterns and attributional information regarding performance causes on attributions and task persistence in fourth and fifth graders who tended to minimize effort as a cause of school performance. Performance patterns did not influence attributions or persistence. Effort feedback influenced…

In contrast to Weiner's attributional model, these research findings indicate that attributions for performance in an actual achievement situation are not linked to self-esteem-related affect such as pride/shame. (Author/PN)

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…

The purpose of this study was to examine how grading leniency and grade discrepancy (the difference between expected grades and deserved grades) were associated with various dimensions of student ratings of instruction. A sample of 754 undergraduate college students completed a student ratings of instruction instrument and provided responses to a…

The hypothesis that the deleterious effects of failure might be attenuated when failure is expressed in self-referenced terms relative to the individual's known level of ability as assessed by other measures was investigated. In this study, 128 undergraduate subjects received feedback described as either norm-referenced or as self-referenced.…

Untrained normal achievers attributed failure to adoption of specific task strategies, while untrained learning disabled boys attributed failure to task difficulty. Characteristics of learned helplessness were apparent in the impaired performance of the learning-disabled boys. Normal achievers appeared to have developed active and independent…

Undergraduate students' perceptions of causes of their performance in a course were related to their ratings of the course and instructor in order to explore convergent and discriminant validity of such ratings. Regression analyses indicated that attributional judgments about causes of student performance were related to evaluations of…

The hypothesis that students who cheat will externalize the cause of this behavior was tested by contrasting the causal inferences of cheating and noncheating college students. Results supported Kelley's attributional model. Uninvolved observers also indicated that students tended to formulate self-serving attributions. (Author/BS)

The relationship between an affective teacher characteristic (a component of achievement motivation called success orientation) and changes in two affective outcomes of pupils (attitude toward learning and perceived personal control of one's own academic success and failure) was investigated. (Author/PN)

The importance of several causes of examination outcomes prior to and after taking a course exam were rated by undergraduate freshmen and advanced psychology students serving as proctors. Freshmen rated proctor characteristics as more important than their own as determinants of exam outcomes. Positivity, rather than egotism, biases were operative.…

The relationship between academic self-concept and achievement was examined longitudinally for 46 children at ages 8 and 10. A bidirectional relationship operated between self-concept and achievement. Success attributions to ability were positively related to self-concept and achievement but were not a direct predictor of achievement. (SLD)