Causal attributions (explanations for outcomes) have been found to predict college students' academic success; however, not all students attributing success or failure to adaptive (i.e., controllable) causes perform well in university. Eccles et al.'s ("Achievement and achievement motives." W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, pp 75-145, 1983)…

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among college students' 2 x 2 goal orientations (mastery-approach [MAp], mastery-avoidance [MAv], performance-approach [PAp], performance-avoidance [PAv]), situational motivation (intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation and amotivation) and effort/persistence in…

Relationships between cultural factors (ethnicity and religiosity) and dimensions of students' attributions for their success and failure (locus of control, stability, personal control and external control), along with motivational goals (learning, performance approach, performance avoidance, and work avoidance), self-efficacy, intelligence…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the entrepreneurship profile of Turkish university students and to make an evaluation for their entrepreneurship orientation by comparing them with non-entrepreneurially inclined students. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, six traits, namely need for achievement, locus of control, risk…

Researchers in attribution theory have used two styles in wording attributional questions. The informational style asks subjects the extent to which they possess ability, effort and luck relative to a task, and task difficulty. The causal style asks subjects the extent to which various factors influenced or caused the outcome. A study was…

The relationship between ability and grade point average was examined for the moderating effects of achievement motivation and locus of control for college students. Data indicated that achievement motivation did moderate the relationship between academic ability and cumulative grade point average for objective and subjective estimates of ability.…

There is little literature comparing personality differences between traditional (under age 25) and reentry women students (aged 25 and older). The purpose of the present study is to examine these differences. A background questionnaire and five additional scales: (1) the Work and Family Orientation Questionnaire (WOFO-3); (2) the…

A study examined emotional resiliency, stress level, locus of control, and achievement need in 17 college students with learning disabilities (LD) and 17 controls. Students with LD had higher resiliency scores and achievement need scores and reported fewer college stressors. No differences were found on the locus of control measure. (Contains…

Successful distance learners and entrepreneurs may be similar in that they seek out and capitalize on opportunities and marshal resources to achieve their goals. Further, entrepreneurial behavior is a vital asset in the rapidly changing global knowledge economy of the 21 st Century. This paper presents a theoretical framework for examining the…

One experiment investigated the relationship of goal setting and locus of control to the work performance of mentally retarded adults and a second experiment was a semi-replication study done on college adults. Two main effects were studied: (1) Method of goal setting (whether a worker set his own goal, had a goal set by a supervisor, or simply…

While early studies of achievement motivation focused on young men, more recent studies have focused on women's motivation to achieve. Five groups were compared on achievement motivation and achievement-related variables: Women (ages 30-50) who were either homemakers, applicants accepted at college but not attending, or returnees enrolled in…

This study compared the personality, cognitive style, and descriptive preferences of 79 preservice undergraduate education students who chose independent study instead of traditional teacher-directed study. Self esteem, field articulation, locus of control, cognitive style preference, and need for achievement tests were administered and…

Nine groups of undergraduate students were formed on the basis of one-third splits of the distributions of their scores on an internality-externality measure and on an achievement motive measure. Academic performance was measured by obtaining grade point averages for all subjects. Analysis of variance showed that internal students made higher…