Attribution theory

Attribution theory

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Attribution theory (Weiner, 1980, 1992) is probably the most influential contemporary theory with implications for academic motivation. It incorporates behavior modification in the sense that it emphasizes the idea that learners are strongly motivated by the pleasant outcome of being able to feel good about themselves. It incorporates cognitive theory and self-efficacy theory in the sense that it emphasizes that learners' current self-perceptions will strongly influence the ways in which they will interpret the success or failure of their current efforts and hence their future tendency to perform these same behaviors.
According to attribution heory, the explanations that people tend to make to explain success or
failure can be analyzed in terms of three sets of characteristics:
First, the cause of the success or failure may be internal or external. That is, we may succeed or fail because of factors that we believe have their origin within us or because of factors that originate in our environment.
Second, the cause of the success or failure may be either stable or unstable. If the we believe cause is stable, then the outcome is likely to be the same if we perform the same behavior on another occasion. If it is unstable, the outcome is likely to be different on another
occasion.
Third, the cause of the success or failure may be either controllable or uncontrollable. A controllable factor is one which we believe we ourselves can alter if we wish to do so. An uncontrollable factor is one that we do not believe we can easily alter.

Note that this factor is distinct from the previous two categories. An internal factor can be controllable (we can control our effort by trying harder) or uncontrollable (most people cannot easily change their basic intellectual ability or change from being an introvert to
being an extrovert). Likewise, an external factor can be controllable (a person failing a difficult course could succeed by taking an easier course) or uncontrollable (if calculus is difficult because it is abstract, it will still be abstract no matter what we do).

An important assumption of attribution theory is that people will interpret their
environment in such a way as to maintain a positive self-image. That is, they will attribute
their successes or failures to factors that will enable them to feel as good as
possible about themselves. In general, this means that when learners succeed at
an academic task, they are likely to want to attribute this success to their
own efforts or abilities; but when they fail, they will want to attribute their
failure to factors over which they have no control, such as bad teaching or bad
luck.
The basic principle of attribution theory as it applies to motivation is that a person's own
perceptions or attributions for success or failure determine the amount of
effort the person will expend on that activity in the future.
There are four factors related to attribution theory that influence motivation in education: ability, task difficulty, effort, and luck. In terms of the characteristics discussed previously, these four factors can be analyzed in the following way:

Ability is a relatively internal and stable factor over which the learner does not exercise much direct control. Task difficulty is an external and stable factor that is largely beyond
the learner's control. Effort is an internal and unstable factor over which the learner can exercise a great deal of control. Luck is an external and unstable factor over which the learner exercises very little control.

Note that it is the learner's perception that determines how attributions will influence future effort. A learner may believe that he is a "lucky person" - and for him luck would be an internal
and stable characteristic over which he exercises little control. In other words, for this person "luck" is really what the preceding list calls an "ability" or personality characteristic. Likewise, a person may believe that she expended a great deal of effort, when in fact she did not, or
that an objectively easy task was difficult. The basic principle of attribution heory as it applies to motivation is that a person's own perceptions or attributions for success or failure determine the amount of effort the person will expend on that activity in the future.
http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/vockell/edPsybook/Edpsy5/edpsy5_attribution.htm