Logo image
Causal Attributions, Expectations, and Task Performance
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Causal Attributions, Expectations, and Task Performance

Grace Kovenklioglu and Jeffrey Greenhaus
Journal of applied psychology, v 63(6), pp 698-705
Dec 1978

Abstract

Attitudes Correlation analysis Expectancy theories Expectations Performance Psychology Studies Success
The performance of college students on each of 2 chemistry tests was classified as a success of failure if it met of failed to meet a minimum criterion of success that each student set prior to the test. Students attributed their performance on each test to effort, luck, ability, and task difficulty. Among those who succeeded, expected and actual future performance were related positively to attributions to high ability and related negatively to attributions to good luck. For those experiencing failure, expected performance was positively related to attributions to low effort and negatively related to attributions to low ability. These results were related to Hall's 1976 model of psychological success, and although expectations were strongly related to subsequent performance, this relationship was weakened when prior performance and ability attributions were constant. The implications of this result for the understanding of expectancy perceptions are addressed.

Metrics

8 Record Views
32 citations in Scopus

Details

Logo image