Attributions: Measurement, effects upon self-efficacy and performance, and future directions

Citation

Coffee P & Rees T (2010) Attributions: Measurement, effects upon self-efficacy and performance, and future directions. 2010 Annual Conference of The British Psychological Society, Stratford-upon-Avon, 14.04.2010-16.04.2010. http://abstracts.bps.org.uk/index.cfm?&ResultsType=Abstracts&ResultSet_ID=5752&FormDisplayMode=view&frmShowSelected=true&localAction=details

Abstract
This presentation primarily focuses on the doctoral research of the winner of the 2009 Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology PhD Dissertation Prize, Pete Coffee. Based upon proposals by Rees, Ingledew and Hardy (2005), a series of studies are reported, providing evidence of construct validity for a novel measure of attributions, together with evidence of main and interactive effects of attributions upon self-efficacy and performance. The first two studies provide evidence for the factor structure of a four-factor 16-item measure of attributions (the CSGU) assessing the dimensions of controllability, stability, globality and universality. Results from three field studies are subsequently discussed, demonstrating that although main effects of attributions upon self-efficacy are observed following perceived success, following perceived failure, interactive effects are observed. Interactive effects for controllability and stability demonstrate that if causes of failure are perceived as likely to recur, it is important to perceive that causes are controllable. Extending the doctoral research, two experimental studies are reported that further examined the interaction between controllability and stability. The results suggest that in novel circumstances individuals believe in the best for themselves unless possibilities to self-enhance are explicitly precluded, and only reinvest efforts when opportunities for self-enhancement become clearly admissible. A final study, drawing upon attribution theory and social identity theory, demonstrates that failure-related feedback is socially mediated and depends on the message content in interaction with message source. The presentation concludes with suggestions for future research.