Essay On Attribution Theory

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Related Work and Theoretical Background Attribution Theory and Attributional Dimensions Attributions are subjective causal explanations for successful and unsuccessful outcomes that are known to influence individuals’ behavior, motivation, and emotions [3]. In attribution research, a distinction is made between internal and external causes (locus) perceived by the individual. For example, a person may either feel responsible for a positive or negative outcome (internal) or relate it to external circumstances [5]. Three further dimensions are distinguished: Stability, controllability, and globality [3]. Causes are considered as stable over time and therefore hard to change or as unstable and easy to change. Furthermore, causes can be perceived as controllable or uncontrollable, as well as generally valid (global) or only valid for certain (specific) situations [6]. Attribution Style …show more content…

Similar to clinical psychology, optimistic and pessimistic styles, as well as more ‘neutral’ styles, were found. For situations of success, the Confident, the Realistic, and the Humble style were identified. Persons with a Confident style may explain their computer-related successes as “I am competent and responsible for my own success”. They tend to attribute success to internal, stable, controllable, and global causes. Persons with a Realistic style expect that “Sometimes I am successful, sometimes not”. They attribute the reasons for success rather temporally unstable and situation-related. For persons with a Humble style, the explanation is “This time I was lucky”. They attribute success to external factors and experience only low levels of control when using computers

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