Studies investigated effects of dispositional praise on internalized sharing and self-perception in children eight-nine years old. Dispositional praise had significant behavioral, cognitive, and affective consequences, but nondispositional praise did not. Perceived expectations may play an important role in determining behavioral consequences of…

Causal ascriptions for anticipated goal attainment and the emotional consequences of such ascriptions were studied in 731 college students answering questionnaires. Internal and external attributions were made for past outcomes. Subjects felt that internal factors accounted more for success, and external, for failure. (SLD)

Investigates intergroup bias in achievement attributions in a sample of 15-year-old German and Turkish pupils in the Federal Republic of Germany. Found that ingroup attribution bias was limited rather than ubiquitous. Discusses the inventive nature of student explanations for ability-linked performance and the motivational consequences of causal…

Thirty-four adolescents with learning disabilities received either spelling strategy training, spelling strategy plus attribution training, or a control condition. Significant differences in spelling recall scores favored the strategy training condition. Addition of the attribution training resulted in no observable improvement in spelling…

Explanations for motivational difficulties of students with learning disabilities emphasize student-perceived competence and student-perceived control. Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic and is enhanced by students' active involvement and ownership of the learning process, by the use of techniques to create and maintain interest, and by the…

This study, involving 169 intellectually gifted secondary students, found that gifted girls, more than gifted boys, attributed both success and failure in mathematics, science, and English to effort and strategy. Gifted girls also tended to report greater confidence and interest in English. No gender differences were found in terms of maladaptive…

Attribution theory provides the cornerstone for an examination of victim self-blame in clinical and research literature. It is argued that other-blame often is presented as the preferable attributional outcome for abuse victims, while the empirical evidence is less than supportive of this claim. Suggestions are offered for further research. (JPS)

Three studies examined children's ability to differentiate aggression and social withdrawal using attributional constructs. Found that even very young children understand the meaning of responsibility and are capable of using it to act as intuitive judges, weighing the evidence to make inferences about responsibility and then meting out judgments…

Compared models of depressive symptoms in a 6-month prospective study of 95 nonreferred 11- to 13-year olds. Results showed that adolescents who perceived their parents, siblings, and friends as supportive, suffered fewer depressive symptoms. Life stress failed to correlate with concurrent depressive symptoms. Attributional style was primarily a…

Discusses three related issues of democratic governance of the National and Affiliate Group Board members of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. These issues include the principle of choice of error, the fundamental attribution error, and inequities in compensation among workers in different fields. (BB)

Discusses a study of how attributions and types of situations influence U.S. and Finnish undergraduates. Explains that both groups reacted to hypothetical situations. Reports that subjects experienced greatest pride when attributing achievements to effort or ability and greatest shame when attributing failure to lack of effort. (SG)

Examines the potentials of technology to help the cooperative learning process. The need for interaction between cooperative learning practitioners and technology users is discussed; and research on the integration of technology into cooperative learning is reviewed, including group dynamics, making each student accountable, and attributional…

Aggressive and nonaggressive Latino and African-American adolescents read scenarios describing negative outcomes initiated by a hypothetical peer and made judgments about their reactions to the outcomes and about the peer's intentions. Data supported a model in which emotion mediates aggressive behavior. (BC)

Two studies examined children's understanding of the origins, behaviors, and properties of objects. Children (1) were sensitive to the distinction between natural things and artifacts; (2) identified specific kinds of natural cause; and (3) understood the link between internal parts and self-generated activity. (BC)

Three studies examined parents' goals during disagreements with young children. Found that women focused on relationship-centered goals more than men. Public situations increased concern for short-term parent-centered goals. Empathy predicted long-term child-centered and relationship-centered goals. Parent-centered goals were associated with power…