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Explaining Academic Successes & Failures Through Attributional Styles
DO I CONTROL MY FUTURE?
EXPERIENCE
ANALYSIS:Interpretatio
n & Prediction
ACTION
THE PROCESS OF ATTRIBUTION
Uncontrollable Negative
Event
Correct perception of
past helplessness, but
INCORRECT prediction of
future helplessness
INACTION
THE PROCESS OF LEARNED HELPLESSNESS
Student’s critical developmental stage
Personal agency and success
Achievement focus
ATTRIBUTIONAL STYLE & ACADEMICS
The present study looks at the role of attributional
styles in students’ response to academic failure.
Three hypothesis were tested I: unavoidable failure primes students for future failure
II: A failure experience will facilitate the development of a helpless (or maladaptive) attributional style
III: a helpless attributional style primes students for repeated failure
HYPOTHESIS
PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-seven college students Mean age 19.84 27 females and 10 males
MATERIALS: Logic Puzzle
Possible & Impossible puzzle The new Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ)
College students
PROCEDURE: Introduction and “lesson” timed logic puzzle new ASQ final timed logic puzzle. Debrief
METHODS
RESULTS
Unavoidable failure primes students for future failure
A signifi cant relationship was found between failure and future behavior. It was observed that success
primes students for future success, however failure does not solely prime students for future failure, but
for future success as well.
HYPOTHESIS I
EXPERIENCE
ANALYSIS:Interpretatio
n & Prediction
ACTION
INITIAL SUCCESS
20
18
2
INIITIAL FAILURE
17
8
9
A failure experience primes students for the development of a helpless attributional style
Results were not consistent with the second hypothesis and one failure experience did not
prime students for the development of a helpless attributional style.
HYPOTHESIS II
EXPERIENCE
ANALYSIS:Interpretatio
n & Prediction
ACTION
STABILITY
GLOBALITY
TOTAL
S 1.25 .76 1.00
F .91 .92 .92
A maladaptive or helpless attributional style primes students for repeated failure
Results supported the third hypothesis and showed that the dimension of causal
stability is positively related to future failure.
HYPOTHESIS III
EXPERIENCE
ANALYSIS:Interpretatio
n & Prediction
ACTION
STABILITY
GLOBALITY
SS 1.16 .75
FS .74 1.01
FF 1.08 .94
Among students, success primes for further success while failure can prime for both future failure and improvement
A student’s attributional style will aff ect how s/he responds to academic failure
A high expectation of negative causal stability is correlated with repeated failure
Causal stability is signifi cant because of task similarity
One uncontrollable negative event is not enough to encourage a helpless attributional style Style encourages how to respond to that event An increase in failure experiences would likely increase the
measurable effect of failure on attributional style Attributional style is developed at a young age (some studies
say as early as age 10) and consistent throughout one’s lifetime
DISCUSSION
There is literature to support both that Repeated failure primes for learned helplessness failure motivates improvement – whatever doesn’t kill you
makes you strongerSignifi cantly higher mean ASQ scores than those
reported by the original, expanded and new ASQ ceiling effect 3:1 female to male ratio Depression among females Depression and helplessness
“Perceived” success & failure is diff icult to facilitate and monitor
Low-SES homes high number of uncontrollable negative events
DISCUSSION
