Attribution theory is concerned with why outcomes occur such as "Why did I fail the exam?" or "Why are they picking on me?" (Weiner, 1986, 2018; see Graham, 2020 for a review). Although this article focuses on achievement, attributions are relevant to the social as well as the achievement domain. Both questions concern failure…

This study investigated attributions and stigmatization self-perceptions of 40 adolescents with and 34 adolescents without ADHD for their problematic behaviors and ADHD as a disorder. Adolescents identified behaviors that they believed described them, indicated which of these behaviors was most problematic for them, and responded to a…

John Dewey knew that when students were actively involved in their learning, they were more motivated and achieved higher. Unfortunately, our practices often negatively affect motivation, such as when teachers emphasize competition, social comparison, normative grading criteria, public forms of evaluation, and ability self-assessment. Most…

Students' beliefs about why they may or may not be successful in various pursuits can influence the extent to which they are likely to invest effort in these pursuits and which in turn affects the level of achievement likely to be experienced. Attributional beliefs assign causes for success and failure to a range of factors, including ability,…

Attributions of panic are almost exclusively directed at members of the general public. Here, we inquire into the relationships between elites and panic. We review current research and theorizing about panic, including problems of identifying when it has occurred. We propose three relationships: elites fearing panic, elites causing panic and…

This paper will provide an overview of research in the past 20 years into the relationship between dyslexia and various aspects of self-perception, including self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy and locus of control. Problems are identified relating to the measurement of some of the most widely used constructs, as is the need for more precise…

This article provides insight into how teachers can listen to students' stories about themselves and mathematics to understand the characteristics that students attribute to themselves. The article also explains how to use stories to inspire and motivate children in mathematics. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

The possible use of Rotter Internal/External Locus of Control Scale in estimating situational valences through attribution is investigated. The data indicated that observing others' behavior in a high consensus, negative situation resulted in external attributions, while behavior viewed in the context of a positive situation resulted in internal…

The study examined the attribution of responsibility of 34 students with an internal or external locus of control following success or failure feedback on a communication task. Results indicated externals attribute more responsibility to impersonal external sources than do internals. The importance of attributional processes for counseling is…

Conducted two studies to investigate marital satisfaction and egocentric bias in spouses' perceived contributions to activities in marriage. Results from 40 spouses indicated that spouses claimed to make greater contributions to negative relationships events than their partners attributed to them. Results from 50 spouses replicated findings.…

Research has associated high levels of private self-consciousness (PSC) with accurate self-knowledge and with behavior consistent with one's attitudes. A study by Buss and Scheier reported that privately self-conscious persons are more susceptible to attribution bias, the self-focus of such persons leading them to attribute their positive and…

An investigation of the causal attributions of success and failure performances on various levels of task difficulty by 36 learning disabled and 36 nondisabled adolescents revealed that Ss' perceptions of the task difficulty levels were significant determinants of the two groups' differing causal attributions. (Author/CL)

Studies the effects of childhood achievement experiences as they might determine generalized internal-external control orientations (I-E). Analysis of I-E items revealed that those who performed poorly were most likely to attribute achievement experiences to luck. (Author)

To explore the effects of competition in a state fair art show on high school art students' self-concepts, three hypotheses were investigated. It was expected that (1) a significant majority of students entering the art competition would have an internal locus of control; (2) students who were characterized by an internal locus of control would…

Self-concept and attributions made about academic successes and failures were compared in 46 students with learning disabilities and 47 normally achieving students (mean age 12 years). Attributions regarding internal versus external causes for successes and failures and stable (ability) versus unstable (effort) causes for failures did not…