Ability versus effort revisited: The moral determinants of achievement evaluation and achievement as a moral system

Abstract

This article examines the moral determinants of achievement evaluation. Conceptual analyses of the distinction between ability and effort are offered in which responsibility inferences and affective reactions play key roles mediating the relations between causal attributions and evaluation. Three new research directions are then pointed out that pertain to a distinction between onset and offset responsibility for achievement failure, the perceived fairness of achievement evaluation, and what adolescents communicate to peers after achievement outcomes. The article next examines the function of punishing lack of effort. Finally, achievement is viewed as a moral system, which suggests different research directions from those which have dominated the field. This research thrust focuses on achievement values and social obligations.