Causal Attributions following Success and Failure at an Achievement Motor Task

Abstract

Past research has shown that success is predominantly attributed to internal factors and failure attributed to external factors. The purpose of the present experiment was to determine whether this attributional pattern was also found when subjects were performing a motor task. The degree of ego involvement in the task (evaluation) and the effect of prior practice (novelty) were also investigated in order to determine the extent to which these variables affect subjects' self-attributions. Thus, the effects of ego involvement and past experience following success and failure on causal attributions were investigated in a 2 × 2 × 2 (evaluation × novelty × outcome) factorial design with 80 college undergraduates. The task was a motor maze. Consistent with past research, subjects showed a relative tendency toward internal attributions over external attributions and a tendency toward stable attributions over unstable attributions. Moreover, success increased the relative bias toward internal attributions. However, evaluation apprehension and experience with the motor task did not interact with outcome to affect internal and external attributions.