The problem: Motivating and retaining staff had become an ongoing problem at the student newspaper. Student staffers would quit abruptly when overwhelmed or dissatisfied, leaving the newspaper with critical positions vacant. This affected the performance of the newspaper. Method: The newspaper was organized into self directed work teams (SDWTs).…

Research has shown that attributing failure to lack of ability leads to lower motivation than does attributing the failure to lack of effort. An attributional model of motivation and performance following failure was tested with college students (N=63), who were preselected on the basis of their attributional styles for interpersonal failures, as…

Attribution theory suggests that attributional styles may contribute to the motivational and performance deficits frequently observed in depressed and lonely populations. An Attributional Style Assessment Test (ASAT) was created and administered to college students, along with the Beck Depression Inventory and the UCLA Loneliness Scale.…

A model of persuasion suggests that individuals comply with a prediction of their behavior because they are persuaded by that prediction; a model of threat suggests that they defy prediction because of its threat of control. College students with either internal (N=20) or external (N=20) loci of control were informed of the accuracy of the…

Although research suggests that men and women are perceived as differing significantly on a number of traits or characteristics, little research relates these traits to observable behaviors. The trait-characteristic issue, when carried over to employment, serves to justify discrimination against women. Research on attribution theory also supports…

Presents results of a study of low-socioeconomic status grade 7 students which examined why some achieve and others do not. Focuses on which differences in self-attitudes (locus of control) and cognitive processing (field dependence) existed between the achiever and non-achiever, and whether these differences are related to achievement. (KH)