Bernard Weiners Attribution Theory

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Bernard Weiners Attribution Theory

• Barbara Slater Stern, Ed. D.
• Secondary Education Program
• EDUC 640
• James Madison University

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Purpose

• Attribution theory addresses the ways individuals
  arrive at causal explanations and the
  implications of those beliefs.
• In other words, attribution theory examines
  behavior and tries to answer why?
• Thus, this is a theory of motivation as opposed
  to learning.

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Principles

• Views people from their search to understand and
  to achieve personal fulfillment
• Thus, the focus is on the relationship among
• achievement-related outcomes
• Causal beliefs
• Subsequent emotions and activities

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Assumptions

• The search for understanding is a primary
  motivator of action
• Attributions (causal explanations) are complex
  sources of information about behavior
• Future behavior is determined, in part, by the
  perceived causes of prior behavior.

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Three Dimensions of attributions
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Dimensions of Major Attributes
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Emotions Generated by Causal Linkages

• Positive Outcomes
• Internal cause feelings of pride and self-
  esteem
• Controllable cause- feelings of confidence
• Stable cause- maximizes feelings of pride,
  self-worth, and confidence
• Uncontrollable/external cause- feelings of
  gratitude.

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Cont

• Negative outcomes
• Internal cause- feelings of embarrassment, guilt,
  and shame
• Controllable cause- feelings of guilt
• Stable cause- maximizes emotions of shame,
  apathy, and resignation associated with internal,
  controllable causes
• Uncontrollable/external cause- feelings of anger

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Properties of achievement attributions
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Cont
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Note

• For junior high/middle school students, interest
  or lack of interest appear to be the main
  attributions for success or failure.

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Teacher Reactions

• To the best of his/her ability, the teacher wants
  students to attribute causes to internal, stable,
  controllable factors such as
• Effort
• Perseverance
• Hard Work
• Trying

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Perceptions of behaviors

• Hyperactivity, bragging and rule-breaking are
  perceived as controllable thereby eliciting anger
  and dislike
• Shyness and physical disabilities are perceived
  as uncontrollable and elicit sympathy
• Thus, children react to peers based on their
  perceptions correct or incorrect.

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Learned Helplessness

• Individuals with low self-concept experiencing
  few successes
• Attribute failure to lack of ability
• See no relationship between their success and
  their actions

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Mastery-Oriented Children

• Acknowledge errors but do not view them as
  failures by attributing this to unstable factors.
• Maintain strategies in face of failure and often
  increase sophistication in these strategies.
• Unflagging optimism
• Thus, these children, unlike the helpless ones,
  see themselves as instrumental in becoming
  successful

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Summary

• Teacher expectation of performance and
  verbal/body language cues effect student
  attribution.
• Thus, proactive classrooms structure tasks that
  meet the needs of low achievers by creating
  opportunities for success at challenging
  tasks.(co-operative learning is one such
  structure)

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Cont

• Teachers need to be LEARNING oriented instead of
  performance oriented.
• Intelligence is seen as dynamic (not fully
  stable)
• Grades are related to learning (criterion) rather
  than normative (relational)

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Cont

• Errors are seen as part of learning rather than
  as failure
• Attribution to lack of effort rather than lack of
  ability
• Meta-cognitive skills are taught
• Risk-taking is valued and rewarded
• Tasks are challenging but broken into steps that
  can be accomplished well.