An Individual Differences Measure of Attributions That Affect Achievement Behavior

Factor Structure and Predictive Validity of the Academic Attributional Style Questionnaire

Bibliographic Data

ID3474487
AuthorsN C Higgins (0000-0002-2403-8551, St. Thomas University), Mitchell R P Lapointe (McMaster University)
Year2012
Volume2
Issue4
Publication date2012-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSAGE Open (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/2158244012470110
OpenAlexW2114994583
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited69

Attributing a negative achievement outcome (e.g., failing a test) to causes that are personally uncontrollable and stable elicits a low expectancy of future success, feelings of hopelessness in that domain, and reduced behavioral efforts to succeed. Thus, a tendency to make such attributions (i.e., dysfunctional academic attributional style) is an individual differences variable that puts people at risk. Two studies examine the factor structure and predictive validity of the Academic Attributional Style Questionnaire (AASQ). Study 1 (using two independent samples) found that the AASQ is a factorially valid measure of functional and dysfunctional attributional styles. In Study 2, during repeated failure in an academic task, the success expectancies, hopefulness, and behavioral persistence of students with a dysfunctional attributional style were lower than those of students with a functional attributional style. These findings modify the attributional theory of achievement motivation (Weiner, 1985) by positing an individual differences moderator variable (i.e., attributional style) and extend attributional research on at-risk students

Academic achievement · Attribution · Developmental psychology · Dysfunctional family · Expectancy theory · Feeling · Hopefulness · Moderation · Clinical Psychology · Education, Achievement, and Giftedness · Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Psychology · Social Psychology

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