The way you interpret your prior successes and failures will determine the amount of time you will allocate to future tasks

People, usually, attribute success to internal causes (i.e. hard work)

People tend to attribute failure to external causes (i.e. bad luck)

One of the main factors why people attribute success to internal causes and failures to external causes deals with self-esteem.  High self esteem is maintained through this process

 As teachers we need to be on the lookout because students may occasionally form false attributions

 How intellectual they are

The amount of effort they put into an activity

The level of difficulty of the activity (was it easy or hard)

 Students may attribute success and failure to factors within themselves (internal factors)

 Students may attribute success and failure to factors outside their control (external factors)

Attributions result of stable factors, unchangeable events

 Attributions can also be the result of unstable factors, those that change constantly

 Controllable factors are those that can influence and change

  Uncontrollable factors are those in which students attribute outcomes to forces out of their control

Students who continuously attribute their failures to stable and uncontrollable forces are unlikely to change future behavior that will lead to success

 Emotional reactions to success and failure

 Expectations for future success or failure

Expenditure of effort

Help-seeking behavior

Classroom performance

 Future choices

 Self-efficacy

Several factors influence the development of attributions:

 Past successes and failures

Are successes and failures followed by reinforced or punishment?

What expectations do we as teachers have for future student performance?

 Messages we provide regarding attributions

 Practice scaffolding with students so success can be more common then failure

Provide reinforcers for successes

Have high expectations for your students

 Help students view failure as the result of controllable and changeable causes

 Mastery Orientation:  I can do it! attitude

Learned Helplessness:  I can’t do it! Attitude

 Students who demonstrate mastery orientation attribute their success to their own accomplishment and abilities

Students who demonstrate learned helplessness attribute their failures to lack of ability, and their successes to uncontrollable causes, not giving themselves enough credit

  Mastery orientation students have a higher sense of self efficacy