Influencing Attributions
There are a number of factors that influence te development of attributions. These include:
Past successes and Failures.
– those with successful histories tend to attribute outcomes
to internal factors
– those with unsuccessful histories tend to attribute
outcomes to external causes
*If we were
Freudians, we would refer to this as an ego defense mechanism.
Reinforcement and Punishment
– reinforcement by adults tends to help children attribute
success to internal, controllable causes
– punishment tends to increase children’s external attributions
– people more likely to accept responsibility for their
failures if others do not make a big deal out of them
Situational Cues
– If an activitiy is perceived as complex, the attributions
the individual makes are likley to change. For very complex tasks, there
may be an increased likelihood to attribute the outcome to external causes.
– If others are seen performing a task, their success
or failure may change the attributions being made.
