Causal ascriptions and achievement behavior: A conceptual analysis of effort and reanalysis of locus of control.

Abstract

Presents a cognitive model of motivation in which ascriptions concerning the causes of success and failure mediate between achievement outcomes and subsequent achievement-related behavior. 3 experiments were conducted in which (a) 63 American 5th and 6th grade males were given the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire and performed an achievement-oriented puzzle task, (b) 39 German high school males completed a digit substitution task, and (c) 23 German teachers ranked the amount of effort they would expend on several hypothetical tasks. It was found that attributions to effort (an internal or personal causal factor) magnified relative reward for success and punishment for failure at achievement activities. Attributions to lack of effort or bad luck (causal factors which may vary from moment to moment) produced lesser decrements in the expectancy of success following failure experiences than attributions to low ability or high task difficulty. Ability and task difficulty were perceived as fixed person and task characteristics, respectively. Results suggest that (a) locus of control (internal vs. external) and stability (fixed vs. variable) dimensions of causality are confounded in the locus of control literature, (b) task difficulty as a cue provides information on the efficacy of effort expenditure, and (c) outcomes at tasks of intermediate difficulty are most influenced by effort. It is concluded that attributions to effort play an important role in determining the direction, magnitude, and persistence of achievement-oriented activity. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)