A systematic review of content themes in sport attribution research: 1954–2011

Abstract

This review sought to identify all sport-based attribution research to systematically explore content themes and identify areas for future research. A literature search identified 167 empirical sport attribution papers (encompassing 202 independent samples) published between 1954 and February 2011. Frequency calculations showed a disproportionate focus on quantitative methodologies (99.4%), outcome attributions (94.6%), and attributions for personal behavior (69.9%), with relatively few intervention studies or longitudinal designs. Findings also showed a good proportion of research conducted on youth sport participants (22.3%) and in naturally occurring competitive sport settings (69.5%). It is recommended that researchers expand their study of attribution in sport to consider those attributions made by coaches and parents, and for diverse events such as athletic injury and dropout. In addition, more diverse research designs (e.g., longitudinal qualitative investigations) will provide a greater appreciation of the attributions made by sport performers.

Keywords:

• attribution
• self-serving bias
• frequency calculations
• sport psychology

Notes

The full list of references, including breakdown of content, is available from the author on request (or will be made available as a supplementary file available for download).

The attributions of observers include those made by sports fans (11 studies), coaches (four studies), and parents (two studies). Ten studies have also investigated observer attributions in other settings (e.g., journalist reports of match, laboratory settings).

This equates to over 100% as several studies have assessed more than a single outcome bias.