Responses to Successful and Unsuccessful Performance: The Moderating Effect of Self-Efficacy on the Relationship between Performance and Attributions

This paper reports on two experiments which explore how individuals with high and low self-efficacy differ in the way they interpret performance feedback and make causal attributions to sustain their self-efficacy perceptions for subsequent performance attempts. The results from Study 1 show that high self-efficacy people make self-serving attributions for unsuccessful performance, while low self-efficacy individuals make self-effacing attributions for unsuccessful performance. In Study 2, these attribution patterns were replicated and shown to combine with past performance, to account for 53% of the variance in subsequent self-efficacy. The implications for improving training interventions, and for understanding the causes of poor performance, are discussed.     

Attributions of Blame and Responsibility in Relation to Distress and Health Behavior Change in People with AIDS and AIDS-related Complex1

There are conflicting views expressed in the literature about whether and under what conditions attributions of self-responsibility or self-blame for one's health affect such variables as distress, emotional adjustment, and adaptive coping. This study examined the impact of attributions of blame and responsibility for the cause and course of disease in 103 persons with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex (ARC). Attributing the cause of disease to the self was significantly positively correlated with dysphoria (a combined measure of depression, anxiety, and negative mood) in persons with ADS, whereas possible improvement attributed to the self was significantly negatively correlated with dysphoria in the ARC group. Persons with AIDS who attributed more responsibility for improvement to themselves also made more health behavior changes. Conversely, in the ARC group, health behavior change was not associated with attributing possible improvement to the self. We found no relationship between self-blame and any of the distress or behavior measures. Our findings that the pattern of association between attribution of responsibility are different between persons with AIDS and ARC underscores the need to examine psychological processes within the context of particular health conditions. The results also suggest that attributing self-responsibility for improvement does not have the negative psychological effects of “blaming the victim” as does attributing responsibility for the cause of AIDS to the self.     

Successful and Unsuccessful Multicultural Supervisory Behaviors: A Delphi Poll

Using the Delphi method, university counseling center supervisors with significant experience in multicultural supervision generated and ranked elements of successful and unsuccessful multicultural supervision. Twenty‐seven of 35 successful elements and 24 of 33 unsuccessful elements involved cultural considerations. Multicultural supervision was defined as a supervisory situation in which the individuals in the supervisory dyad differed in their ethnicity. Empleando el método Delphi, los supervisores de un centro universitario de consejería con amplia experiencia en supervisión multicultural generaron y clasificaron elementos de supervisión multicultural fructuosos e infructuosos. Veintisiete de los 35 elementos fructuosos y 24 de los 35 infructuosos implicaron consideraciones culturales. La supervisión multicultural se definió como una situación de supervisión en la cual las personas que forman la díada tienen etnicidades distintas.     

Job Search Activity Patterns of Successful and Unsuccessful Job Seekers

In this article, the author summarizes a study examining the number and pattern of job-search resources used by successful and unsuccessful job seekers.     

Successful and Unsuccessful Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Older Adults

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a condition that was once thought to rarely occur in older adults. Subsequently, treatment of OCD in the elderly has received very limited attention. However, recent epidemiological studies have highlighted the prevalence of this disorder in late life and, thus, focus has turned to comprehensive treatment for this population. This article describes two older adults who received intensive, cognitive behavioral treatment in an inpatient setting. Treatment modifications incorporating age-specific concerns are discussed, as are potential factors influencing treatment success versus symptom relapse.     

Some Burning Issues in Research on Health Behavior Change

This response to five excellent commentaries is intended to clarify some issues in research on health behavior change that appear to be ambiguous or controversial, such as the debate about stage models versus continuum models or the search for moderators and mediators. The assumption of stages can be useful, but the quest for truly existing stages is considered fruitless because stage is a scientific construct, not nature. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) is designed as an implicit or explicit stage model, based on the distinction between a motivational and a volitional phase. As a template for targeted interventions, it suggests grouping individuals into preintenders, intenders, and actors. Due to indistinct boundaries between stages and to unstable social‐cognitive constructs, the validity of stage assessment becomes the foremost problem. However, if stage‐tailored interventions turn out to be superior to nontailored interventions, then the choice of the corresponding stage model is justified. When analysing the mechanisms of health behavior change or when predicting behaviors, the HAPA is also in line with nonstage (continuum) models. In the latter case, it examines moderators and mediators within a path‐analytic research design. It is suggested that more research be conducted on moderated mediation. Cette réponse aux cinq excellents commentaires tente de clarifier certains des résultats des recherches sur la modification des comportements relatifs à la santé, résultats qui semblent ambigus ou sujets à controverse, ce qui est le cas de la discussion sur les modèles en stades ou en continuum ou encore de la recherche de modérateurs et de médiateurs. L’hypothèse des stades peut se révéler fructueuse, mais il est inutile de considérer que les stades existent réellement puisque le stade, concept scientifique, ne relève pas de la nature. L’Approche des Processus d’Action en faveur de la Santé (HAPA) est par construction un modèle en stades implicites ou explicites basé sur la distinction entre une étape motivationnelle et une étape volitionnelle. Comme cadre pour des interventions ciblées, il propose de regrouper les individus en trois catégories: ceux qui n’ont pas encore l’intention d’agir, ceux qui ont cette intention et enfin ceux qui agissent. En raison des frontières fluctuantes entre les stades et de l’instabilité des concepts socio‐cognitifs, la validité de l’évaluation des stades devient le problème principal. Cependant, si les interventions programmées à partir des stades se révèlent plus efficaces que les autres, le choix de ce modèle est défendable. Quand on analyse les mécanismes des modifications du comportement en faveur de la santé ou quand on prédit ces comportements, l’HAPA accepte aussi le modèle en continuum. En ce cas, elle aborde les modérateurs et les médiateurs avec un plan de recherche en pistes causales. Il faut développer les recherches sur modérateurs et médiateurs.     

Attributions for Expectancy Violating Changes in Affectionate Behavior in Platonic Friendships

Although affectionate communication is vital for the maintenance of close, personal relationships, it has the potential to generate negative as well as positive outcomes, which may in part be a function of what attributions are made for affectionate expressions. The present experiment applied principles of attribution theory to unexpected changes in affectionate communication within dyads of adult platonic friends. Results indicated that attributions are more often made for decreases in affection than for increases. Contrary to the prediction of the fundamental attribution error, all the participants more often made external, noncontrollable attributions for changes in affectionate behavior, and the intimacy level of the friendship moderated this effect. Finally, the types of attributions made were associated with a recipient's evaluations of the giver's affectionate behavior and his or her assessment of the giver's character.     

Responsibility Attributions for Drunken Behavior: The Role of Expectancy Violation1

Research on attributions about drunken aggression has suggested that intoxication serves to excuse the aggressor while increasing blame to the victim. In this study, we examined subjects' responses to a scenario depicting a violent interaction in which intoxication of aggressor and victim, victim's behavior, and aggressor's previous violent background were varied. We predicted that to the extent that the violent act violated the expectations of the observer, alcohol intoxication would serve to decrease dispositional and responsibility attributions to the aggressor. Instead, the findings showed that alcohol use led to increased attributions of causality, blame, and responsibility for both aggressor and victim. The results are discussed in terms of both attribution theory and societal factors influencing the acceptability of excuses involving alcohol.     

Theory-Based Health Behavior Change: Developing, Testing, and Applying Theories for Evidence-Based Interventions

Theories are needed to explain and predict health behavior, as well as for the design and evaluation of interventions. Although there has been a history of developing, testing, applying, and refining health behavior theories, debates and limitations in evidence exist: The component of theories which, for example, predicts change should be better elaborated so that we can more easily understand what actually drives behavior change. Theories need to be empirically testable in two ways. Theories need to specify a set of changeable predictors to describe, explain, and predict behavior change, and they should enable us to design an effective intervention that produces exactly those changes in behavior that are predicted by the relevant theory. To make this possible, theories need to be specified in such a way that they can be rigorously tested and falsified. Moreover, for the design of theory-based interventions it must be possible to derive change techniques from the theory and to use them to generate changes in behavior. Based on eight state-of-the-science articles that make conceptual and empirical contributions to the current debate on health behavior theories, various approaches are discussed to gain further insights into explaining and changing health behaviors and the iterative process of theory development.     

Parental Attributions of the Causes of Their Children's Behavior

We investigated causal attributions parents made regarding their children's best and worst behavior while the children were taking methylphenidate (MPH) for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Twenty-six parents were surveyed each week for six weeks using the Parent Attribution Scale-Revised. This scale measures parents' attributions of the causes for their children's behavior when taking MPH to treat symptoms of ADHD. When attributing causes for best behavior, the parents rated their children's effort most often followed by their own effort and the positive medication effects. When attributing causes for worst behavior, the parents rated their children's lack of effort most often followed by inadequate medication effects and their own lack of effort. Our study suggests that parents rate effort most often when making attributions for their children's best and worst behavior. When making attributions for best behavior only, parents saw no difference between their own efforts and the effects of medication. When making attributions for worst behavior only, parents were more likely to blame their children's lack of effort and the ineffectiveness of medication more often than their own lack of effort.     

Modeling Health Behavior Change: How to Predict and Modify the Adoption and Maintenance of Health Behaviors

Health‐compromising behaviors such as physical inactivity and poor dietary habits are difficult to change. Most social‐cognitive theories assume that an individual's intention to change is the best direct predictor of actual change. But people often do not behave in accordance with their intentions. This discrepancy between intention and behavior is due to several reasons. For example, unforeseen barriers could emerge, or people might give in to temptations. Therefore, intention needs to be supplemented by other, more proximal factors that might compromise or facilitate the translation of intentions into action. Some of these postintentional factors have been identified, such as perceived self‐efficacy and strategic planning. They help to bridge the intention–behavior gap. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) suggests a distinction between (a) preintentional motivation processes that lead to a behavioral intention, and (b) postintentional volition processes that lead to the actual health behavior. In this article, seven studies are reported that examine the role of volitional mediators in the initiation and adherence to five health behaviors: physical exercise, breast self‐examination, seat belt use, dietary behaviors, and dental flossing. The general aim is to examine the applicability of the HAPA and its universality by replicating it across different health behaviors, based on various measures, time spans, and samples from different countries. Les comportements nuisibles à la santé tels que le manque d’exercice physique et les mauvaises habitudes alimentaires sont difficiles à modifier. La plupart des théories socio‐cognitives admettent que le meilleur prédicteur d’un réel changement est l’intention que la personne a de changer. Mais la conduite est souvent en contradiction avec les intentions. La divergence entre intention et comportement est due à plusieurs raisons. Par exemple, des obstacles imprévus peuvent apparaître, ou encore les intéressés peuvent succomber à la tentation. L’intention doit donc être associée à d’autres facteurs plus immédiats susceptibles de compromettre ou de faciliter le passage de l’intention à l’action. Certains de ces facteurs ont été identifiés, à savoir la planification stratégique et la perception de l’efficacité personnelle. Ils aident à combler le fossé entre l’intention et le comportement. L’Approche des Processus d’Action en faveur de la Santé (HAPA) établit une distinction entre les processus motivationnels préalables à l’intention qui conduisent à une intention comportementale et les processus volontaires secondaires à l’intention qui débouchent sur un comportement effectivement favorable à la santé. On expose dans cet article sept recherches qui examinent le rôle médiateur de la volition dans l’adoption de et la persévérance dans cinq comportements utiles à la santé: l’exercice physique, l’inspection personnelle de ses seins, l’usage de la ceinture de sécurité, un bon régime alimentaire et l’utilisation du fil dentaire. Il s’agit de mettre à l’épreuve le caractère opérationnel de l’HAPA et son universalité en l’appliquant à différents comportements liés à la santéà partir de mesures et de périodes diversifiées sur des échantillons provenant de différents pays.     

Event Centrality as Mediator Between Attributions and Mental Health Outcomes

Consistent with the Reformulated Model of Learned Helplessness, attributions that are more internal, stable, and global have been shown to be associated with greater posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms. Even though the Reformulated Model of Learned Helplessness has been revised to clarify that attributions are most likely to lead to adverse outcomes when the event is considered to be important to the person and the outcomes very negative (Hopelessness Model of Depression), most attribution studies do not account for the importance of the event to the individual. The current study examined whether perceptions of event importance mediated the relationship between attributions and posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms in a sample of 313 college students who reported about their worst life event. Consistent with the Hopelessness Model of Depression, results supported the mediational role of event significance. Findings suggest that maladaptive attributions may contribute to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression both directly and through the event’s importance to a person’s sense of identity.     

Childhood Experiences of Parenting and Causal Attributions for Criminal Behavior Among Young Offenders and Non-Offenders

This study examined the relationships between childhood experiences of parenting and causal attributions for criminal behavior among offenders against the person, property offenders, and non-offenders. Analysis showed that non-offenders perceived their fathers to be warmer and more overprotecting than did person offenders. Person offenders perceived their mothers to be less warm than did property offenders and non-offenders, and less overprotecting than non-offenders. Mothers were perceived to be more overprotecting and warmer than fathers by all 3 groups. All 3 samples viewed a range of explanations to be important in explaining criminal behavior. No significant associations were revealed between perceptions of parenting and causal attributions for crime. Group membership was predicted by home area crime level and perceived parental emotional warmth.     

Attributions for affluence

There have been very few psychological studies on explanations for wealth, though there have been a number of studies on explanations for poverty and attributions for success and failure. Previous research on explanations for poverty has indicated that people attributed poverty primarily to societal influences, personal responsibility and fate, and that various demographic factors are associated with different patterns in the explanation for poverty. It was hypothesized that attributions for wealth are of the same kind as those for poverty, but that the salient demographic variables are associated in significantly opposite ways. This study attempted to assess which demographic variables, notably Sex, Education and Voting Pattern, were related to explanations of wealth in Britain. Vote appeared to be a very important variable, with Conservatives rating positive Individualistic explanations, and Labour voters Societal explanations, as most important in explaining wealth. Factor analysis supported the a priori classification of the explanations for wealth. The results are discussed in terms of the psychology of explanations, political socialization and fiscal measures.     

Attributions for Exam Performance

The expectancy confirmation and egotism approaches to attributions in achievement settings are contrasted in this study. It was found that students in two psychology classes expected to do well on their exams and that these expectations were based on internal factors (ability, effort). Post-test attributions were determined almost entirely by the simple valence of the outcome (success-failure). High outcomes were associated with internal attributions and low outcomes were associated with external attributions. It appears that students who perform poorly avoid the blame for failure by making ego-defensive external attributions and that these attributions enable them to make unreasonably high predictions for future performance. Some limited support was found for the notion that attribution may be affected by the degree to which outcomes confirm or disconfirm expectations.     

运动员退役过程的心理定性分析：成功与失败的个案研究

研究采用定性分析的方法,旨在探索我国运动员退役过程中为什么有的运动员能够顺利退役,重新开创新事业,而有的运动员却不能。研究以Torregrosa等的理论模式为设计思路,采用综合个案研究设计,选取4个成功和4个失败个案,通过访谈、文献和语言分析技术,对8个运动员退役过程中的意识和行为进行剖析。结果发现运动员在退役过程中,主要在心理状态、退役意识、退役计划、自我调节、社会支持和生活满意度6个方面,反映出成功退役的运动员与失败退役的运动员之间的不同特征。成功退役的运动员通常有一个良好的退役意识。主动计划选择退役后的事业发展;退役失败的运动员则表现为对退役问题消极回避的应对行为。文章就这些发现进行了讨论,并建议了进一步定量研究的方向