Student Grade Attributions: Do They

Matter?

By:

Precious Hardy

What Are Grade Attributions?

• The causes of success or failure• Think of a time you got lower grade than

you expected• Why?• The why is the attribution.

Types of Attributions

STABLE UNSTABLE

INTERNAL Natural ability EffortCONTROL

EXTERNAL Course/teacher Luck

Attributions Predict Behavior

Attribution Emotion Motivation Behavior

Effort Positive High Study

Ability Negative Low Do nothing

Course Neutral/Negative Low Do nothing

Luck Neutral/Negative Low Do nothing

High school• In high school, many students

attribute their grades to:• Nature ability • Content difficulty • Teaching style • Luck

• In result, many students will enter college with the belief that uncontrollable factors may determine their academic outcomes (Stupnisky et al., 2008)

College Freshman • Transition from high school to

college (Perry, 2003)• Face new challenges• Pressure to excel • New social groups • Problem – solving

• Life can feel out of control• “Freedom” from

parents/teachers

What Happens in College? • Failure-prone students

begin to perceive college as a low-control environment (Perry, 1991, 2003)• Less responsible for their

academic achievement • Learn-helplessness

develops • Develop the belief that

college is not “for them,” because they lack “ability”• Increases the likelihood of

dropping out

Why is Effort (Control) Important?

• Effort (control) is instrumental to obtaining life’s goals (Haynes et al., 2009)• Self-regulation

• Students who feel “in control” of their academic outcomes (Perry, 1991) tend to have:• Greater self-monitoring

strategies• Less boredom and less anxiety• Higher grades; withdrew from

fewer courses over a 3-yr period

Why is Effort (Control) Important?

• Perceived control (Robbins et al., 2004) is a better predictor of academic outcomes than:• SES• ACT/SAT• High school GPA

Purpose • To examine the interrelationships between college

students’ grade attributions • Identify how attributions are linked with negative

emotions• Identify the attributional profile of a successful

college student

Methods• N = 204• Convenience sample • Freshmen level classes (History, Math, and Psychology)• 95 Men, 105 Women • 133 Black, 53 White, 10 Other• Mean age: 20 (SD= 5.9)

• Survey • Demographics (e.g., GPA, parental education, etc.)• Multidimensional – Multiattributional Causality Scale (Lefcourt, 1981) Ability,

Effort, Course, Luck • Perceived Success 5-pt scale (alpha = .91)• Intrinsic Motivation 5-pt scale (alpha = .78)

• Adapted from Vallerand et al., 1989

• Guilt 10-pt scale (alpha = .80)• Anxiety 10-pt scale (alpha = .88)• Boredom 10-pt scale (alpha = .70)

What Are Students’ Attributions?

Ability Effort Course Luck1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Attribution

Mea

n S

core

(Sc

ale

1-5

)

Effort Ability Luck Course

Effort 1

Ability .10 1

Luck -.20** .33** 1

Course -.08 .19** .61** 1

** p < .01* p < .05

Correlations Among Attributions

Correlations of Effort Attribution

Effort Perceived Success

Intrinsic Motivation

Guilt Anxiety Boring

Effort 1

Perceived Success

.27** 1

Intrinsic Motivation

.35** .37** 1

Guilt -.19** -.41** -.31** 1

Anxiety -.15* -.35** -.25** .58** 1

Boring -.22** -.22** -.18* .29** .21** 1

** p < .01* p < .05

Which Attributions Best Predict Intrinsic Motivation?

• Only the effort attribution ( = .β 32, p<.001) predicted intrinsic motivation

• But effort only explained 14% of the variance in intrinsic motivation (R2=.14, F=(4, 180)=6.99, p<.001)

Which Attributions Best Predict Anxiety?

• Ability predicted anxiety ( = .β 32, p<.001), as did effort ( = -.17, p<.05)β

• Predictors of anxiety explained 16% of the variance (R2=.16, F=(4, 181)=8.43, p<.001)

Grade Attributions

• Effort is separate from other attributions• Most common attribution• Effort as a negative or no

relationship with other attributions

• Ability, Luck, and Course are all positively related to each other

Attributions and Negative Affect• Students who attribute their

failures to Luck, Course, Ability• Higher anxiety and guilt• Less likely to perceive success

or be motivated• May lead to self-esteem

problems

Attributions and Positive Affect

• Students who use effort attributions:• Show greater intrinsic motivation and perceived success• Show less guilt, anxiety, and boredom

How to Inspire Effort Attribution?

• Attributional Retraining (Haynes et al., 2009)• Motivational treatment that promotes

perceived self-control• Reframes the way students think about

academic outcomes• Aesop fables (e.g., Little Engine)

• Three-part intervention • Video• Handout• Writing Assignment

• Effectiveness (Wilson & Linville, 1982)• 40 undergraduates below a 3.5 GPA• AR outperformed on subsequent test • Less likely to drop out• GPA increased at greater rate than control

Thank you

Didn’t do as well on the test as you wanted?Feeling frustrated, depressed and angry?

Rather than thinking… Instead, try…

I am stupid. Everybody can succeed – you just have to work at it.Here are some examples as to how you can studymore effectively:– Read chapters several times.– Review notes several times.– Use your study guide.– Study with someone.

The test was too difficult. Tests can appear difficult when you are not well enough prepared. Study more for the next text.

My professor is lousy. If you are having problems with a professor, talk to him or her about your difficulties. If that does not help, you may have to work extra hard to do well in the course.

I had a bad day We all have bad days once in a while, but make sure that you study enough for the next text to improve your grade.

I panicked If you have a problem with text anxiety, learnRelaxation techniques that you can use under stress. Counseling Services in Student Health can help.

REMEMBER: The next time do not do as well on a text or assignment as you wanted, remember that most reasons for doing poorly are under your control and can be changed.

Emotion Elaboration Writing Assignment

0Describe a recent instance when you performed poorly, or did not perform as well as expected, on an important course exam or assignment.

0Discuss as openly and honestly as you can how the event made you feel (e.g., anxious, regretful, angry, ashamed, helpless, guilty, etc.).

0Explain how you were able to learn from this event, or how you were able to reinterpret the event in a positive way. 0 All your writing is completely confidential.