attribution

define attribution

the reason a performer gives for the cause of their success or failure

why is weiner’s model not accurate for sport

• it is not sport-specific

• there are lots of external factors that are not taken into account e.g. umpires, weather, training

describe weiner’s model

• explains the reasons that athletes give for their success or failure, categorised by locus of control and stability

locus of control;

• internal - factors within the performer (e.g. ability, effort)

• external - factors outside of the performer (e.g. task difficulty, luck)

stability;

• stable - permanent factors which cannot easily be changed (e.g. ability, task difficulty)

• unstable - temporary factors which can be changed (e.g. effort, luck)

• we should aim to attribute our success to internal, unstable attributions e.g. we had prepared well and gave it everything

describe weiner’s third dimension, controllability

• controllability refers to the extent to which the individual feels they can control the cause

• some factors are controllable e.g. effort, whilst others are not e.g. luck

define learned helplessness

the belief that failure is inevitable and that no control can be had over the causes of failure

define mastery orientation

a high achiever who has a strong desire to succeed and expects to succeed

practical example of learned helplessness

when the performer attributes their failure to stable reasons, which offer no hope for change in the future

e.g. a gymnast saying i cannot perform this vault because i do not have the ability

or, when a performer attributes their success to external reasons, giving away the credit

e.g. i won this because my opponent was weak

AO3 - learned helplessness

• leads to low self confidence, and to performers giving up very easily - therefore it is a barrier to improved sports performance

• attributing success internally and failure externally can prevent learned helplessness (known as self serving bias and can be used to raise confidence in the short term)

AO3 - mastery orientation

• linked with high self confidence, these performers take on challenge and show persistence when faced with difficulty - therefore allows performance to be optimised

• attributing success and failure to internal, unstable factors (effort) encourages mastery orientation

what is attribution retaining

• the process of changing learned helplessness into mastery orientation

• e.g. a person who fails in a task should be encouraged to attribute failure to controllable, unstable factors