Performance Estimates and Causal Attributions as a Function of Individual Differences and Situational Variables

Summary

The effects on several variables of a situational variable, sequence of outcomes, and an individual difference variable, Desirability for Control (DC), were examined in a control-ambiguous task. The variables were: subjects' performance estimates, confidence in achieving those estimates, causal attributions, and perceived control. Thirty male and female undergraduates were tested individually using a binary prediction task. Results indicate that performance estimates were significantly higher for subjects who experienced a descending sequence, though those in the ascending group tended to be more confident of achieving their estimates. Causal attributions and perceived control were related to DC. Subjects' perceptions of causality could be determined separately from their perceptions of performance.