Thirty-six teachers and 162 elementary children in classes for specific learning difficulties (SLD) participated in a five week classroom attribution training program in one of three groups: mild frustration, success only, and control. Experimental training resulted in significant increase in ask persistence; no changes were noted in achievement…

Drawing from the attributional investigations of Bernard Weiner and colleagues in the area of achievement motivation, this review addresses attribution theory and its implications for labeling of handicapped children. It is concluded that attributions, not the presence or absence of formal labels, may be the critical variable of concern.…

Compared smokers' (214) and nonsmokers' (220) explanations for cigarette smoking behavior to determine predictors of cigarette consumption. Results showed addiction and affective smoking were the most important motives predicting consumption. Presented at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 1980. (WAS)

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…

Compared men who claimed that retirement improved their health (N=114) with men who claimed no effect (N=149). Results showed that retrospective claims of good effects were not corroborated by a corresponding longitudinal, pre- to post-retirement improvement in self-reported health except among men whose retirement reduced prior job strain.…

Provides further support for the contention held by Thomas, Chess, and Korn (1982) that the concept of difficult temperament is not totally a construction of the parents. (MP)

T.W. Elig and I.H. Frieze used a multitrait, multimethod approach to contrast three methods for measuring attributions: unstructured/open-ended, structured/unidimensional, and structured/ipsative. This paper reanalyzed their data using confirmatory factor analysis techniques. (Author/PN)

Tests the degree of generalization from attributions of "overweight" to other personality attributions made by college students (N=223). Students were asked to write stories about male and female stimulus characters who varied only in body image. (CM)

To test the hypothesis that women exhibit an externality bias in their performance attribution, male and female college students made effort, ability, luck, and task difficulty attributions for their performance on a recent course examination. Findings suggested an internality bias among men, rather than an externality bias among women. (Author/GC)

College subjects undertook nine cognitive tasks with different perceived sex linkages, stating their expectancy of success before performance and attributing causality for their perceived performance after each task. Results indicated that (1) females hold lower expectancies of success than males and (2) perceived sex linkage of the task also…

Young adults evaluated their parents, themselves, and their families. Self-concepts varied significantly as a function of perceived family happiness. It is suggested that threats to basic needs result in reduced opportunities to personal growth, and manifestation of lowered self-concept. (Author/GK)

Education majors completed questionnaires about student success or failure in hypothetical situations and their responses were categorized. Dimensions of the category scheme concerned the student (ability and effort), the situation (task difficulty and luck), and the teacher (experience and preparation). (CTM)

Subjects receiving nonaversive treatment were assigned to maintenance strategies: modeling, participant observing, or self-monitoring control. Subjects showed a mean smoking rate of 46% of baseline at one year and no significant relapse between six months and one year. Differences and correlations with attribution and other questionnaire measures…

Develops measures of individual differences in attribute centrality, investigates convergent validity, and explores differences in central and noncentral attribute functions within same person. University students in three countries completed questionnaires. Four relative centrality measures correlated with information required to make decisions…

Examined observer error in attitude attribution. Subjects appeared to have invested essays, written under assignment, with diagnostic value on the presumption of a correlation between the strength of the essay and the writer's attitude. Suggests that attribution error is based on the inclination to adopt a diagnostic judgmental set. (Author)