attribution Flashcards
what is attribution
an explanation of the cause for success or failure
what is Weiner’s locus of causability
whether the attributions come from within the person (internal) or the environment (external)
what is Weiner’s locus of stability
is the attribution changeable or unchangeable.
affects a person’t expectations or future outcomes.
how does the table look
causability: internal and external on top
stability: stable and unstable on side
internal stable
ability
we were the better team
external stable
task difficulty
they were the team at the bottom of the league
internal unstable
effort
we were prepared well and gave it everything
external unstable
luck
a lot of marginal decisions went our way
what is a self-serving bias
when sports performers who lose attribute their failure to external causes
winners attribute to internal
not wanting to take responsibility for failure
weiner’s controllability dimension
the extent to which the outcome is controllable for the performer
how can weiner’s controllability dimension be used in praise
effort and controllable success is praised to:
-inc motivation
-inc confidence
-inc pride
how can weiner’s controllability dimension be used for uncontrollable aspects
a coach can attribute failure to external causes to protect players from responsibility
-maintain self-esteem
-sustain motivation
-restore pride and confidence
what is learned helplessness
a state of mind where the performer believes failure is inevitable
‘why bother’
how can learned helplessness develop
if performers attribute failure to internal, stable and uncontrollable reasons such as ability
how can learned helplessness be prevented
if the performer attribute failure to external, unstable and controllable reasons such as effort
what is mastery orientation
state of mind where the performer believes that success is within their control
failure is a learning experience and their persistence motivates them to be the best.
what is good about mastery orientation
performers feel in control of their performance outcomes and show approach behaviour rather than avoidance.
how do people with mastery orientation attribute performance
attribute performance to internal, unstable and controllable factors
more in control and motivated
eg ability and effort
what is good about self-serving bias
-protects self-esteem as it takes away blame
-motivation high
-team cohesion as no one to blame
what is bad about self-serving bias
-shields reason for failure
-lead to lack of improvement
what is attribution retraining
altering the perception of the athlete as this is a learned behaviour and therefore unchangeable
eg seeking to change ‘learned’ into ‘mastery orientation’
who needs attribution retraining
those who have failed and starting to experienced learned helplessness
what techniques can be used for attribution retraining
-use role models
-positive reinforcement
-experiences
-give success
-control arousal levels
-use goal setting
-use mental imagery
what strategies can be used for attribution retraining
-realistic goals
-focus on process not performance
-positive aspects
-focus on unstable and controllable factors eg effort
-develop self-confidence
