Attribution Flashcards
What is attribution theory?
A concept that investigates what people attribute their successes and failures to.
What are the 4 segments of Weiner’s model of attribution?
- Ability
- Task difficulty
- Effort
- Luck
what are the 3 dimensions to Weiner’s model of attribution?
- Locus of causality (internal + external)
- Stability Dimension
- Controllability
What dimensions is Ability?
- Internal
- Stable
- Uncontrollable
What dimensions is Task difficulty?
- External
- Stable
- Uncontrollable/stable
What dimensions is Effort?
- Internal
- Unstable
- Controllable
What dimensions is Luck?
- External
-Unstable - Uncontrollable
What is controllability?
Whether attributions are under the control of the performer or under the control of others, or whether they are uncontrollable, meaning nothing can be done by anyone. E.g. Luck
What is a self-serving bias?
A person’s tendency to attribute their failure to external reasons.
“I lost the badminton match because the floor was slippy” - an excuse to explain poor performance.
What are the positives of self-serving bias?
Protects self esteem and motivation
What are the negatives of self-serving bias?
You may be giving false reasons for performance to protect yourself, but you may never improve as the real reasons are not addressed.
What is learned helplessness?
This is the belief that failure is inevitable and a feeling of hopelessness when faced with a particular situation (specific learned helplessness) or groups of situations (global learned helplessness).
People who experience learned helplessness are generally low achievers
What is an example of specific learned helplessness?
“I am a hopeless football player”
What is an example of global learned helplessness?
“I am hopeless at all sport”
What is mastery orientation?
The view that an individual will be motivated by becoming an expert (master) in the thing they are trying to learn.
Mastery orientated people are usually high achievers.
