Causality orientations, failure, and achievement.

R Koestner; M Zuckerman

doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1994.tb00300.x

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PubMed · 7965562

Causality orientations, failure, and achievement.

R Koestner·M Zuckerman

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Abstract

Two studies examined similarities between Deci and Ryan's (1985) causality orientations theory and Dweck and Leggett's (1988) social-cognitive theory of achievement. Study 1 examined the conceptual similarity between the individual difference measures central to the two theories. It was shown that autonomous college students are likely to adopt learning goals and report high confidence in their academic abilities; controlled students are likely to adopt performance goals and to report high levels of confidence in their ability; and impersonal students are likely to possess the classic helpless pattern of performance goals and low confidence in their academic abilities. Study 2 examined whether causality orientations, like Dweck's measures of goals and confidence, moderate the impact of failure feedback on motivation as measured in persistence and performance. The results suggested that autonomous individuals respond to failure in a mastery-oriented fashion, whereas impersonal individuals respond in a helpless manner. The response of controlled individuals to failure parallels that of people described as ego-involved or reactive.

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Achievement Affect Analysis of Variance Causality Chi-Square Distribution Female Freedom Goals Helplessness, Learned Humans Male Motivation Psychological Tests Psychological Theory Self Concept Sex Factors Comparative Study Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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R Koestner, M Zuckerman. 1994. Causality orientations, failure, and achievement.. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1994.tb00300.x

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