Correct use of attribution is
crucial for maintaining a
performers: level of
performance, satisfaction of
performance, task persistance,
future expectations
Weiner's Attribution Theory
1st Dimension -Locus of
Causality. 4 areas; ability,
Luck, Effort and Task Difficulty
And that this can be sub-divided into
two broad categories. Internal Causes:
factors within our control such as
ability and effort. External Causes:
factors that are outside our control
such as task difficulty and luck.
Internal/Stable:
'We were too
good for the
opposition on
the day', 'Our
skills were
better'.
External/Stable:
'They were not
a very good
team, from a
lower league'.
Internal/Unstable:
'We had prepared
well for the game
and all the team
worked extremely
hard'.
External/Unstable:
'We were lucky on the
day. The umpire gave
us a questionable
penalty kick'.
2nd Dimension - Locus
of Stability. This relates
to the changeable
nature of the factor. e.g.
the ability of the
performer would not
change from one week
to the next, whereas
their level of effort may.
The stability is divided
into 2 further
sub-divisions.
Stable Factors: Such as the level of individual
ability, skill, coaching experience and the
nature of the opposition.
Unstable Factors: Such as the individual level of motivation
and effort, arousal levels, refereeing decisions, quality of
teamwork, Imposed Tactics, Injury, Form and Pure Luck.
3rd Dimension - Locus of Control.
Personal Control -
Areas of
performance which
an individual can
take control. e.g.
effort,
concentration,
commitment to
training. Effort is the
only factor which
can be classed as
controllable from
his original model.
External
Control -
Areas of
performance
which an
individual
has little
control e.g.
the referee,
tactics used
by the coach,
quality of the
opposition.
Attribution was seen to have an influential effect on the performers level of pride or shame
after the event. If they feel that success was due to internal factors such as ability or effort
rather than external factors, the performers level of pride increased along with their
motivation. If failure was attributed to internal factors, it would result in a sense of shame
and a corresponding decrease in motivation.
Controllability - affects
moral judgement and
reaction to other
people. A coach will
often base their
judgement on
controllable factors.
e.g. praise is given to
someone who tried
hard, even if the result
wasn't good. However
the coach will be more
critical of a
performance which is
poor due to poor
concentration.
Effective Use of Attributions & Self Serving Bias
Self-Serving Bias: The tendency of a performer to
attribute their success to internal factors such as
effort or ability, while failure is attributed to external
influences such as luck and task difficulty.
To use attribution correctly the coach must know
how the performer is going to react. this may
depend on personality, level of experience, current
level of motivation. Success should be attributed to
internal factors. This allows the performer to gain
feelings of satisfaction, increasing their motivation
and task persistence. Failure should never be
attributed to internal factors. The coach should
use external or unstable factors. This allows the
athlete to believe changes can be made to improve
their performance and it protects their
self-esteem. The use of attributions in this way is
known as Self Serving Bias.
Self Serving Bias
allows the individual
to maintain their
levels of motivation
and increase task
persistence. The
correct use of
attributions is
important to develop
self esteem, maintain
motivation, and avoid
Learned Helplessness.
Attribution Retraining
The process by which a performer Is taught to attribute
failure to changeable, unstable factors, rather than
internal, stable factors.
This involves the
coach developing
and changing an
individuals
perception of
failure, allowing
them to deal with
it effectively and
improve future
performances.
By altering the performers
perception of their apparent lack
of ability, their emotional
response changes, from 'I wont
be able to develop and be
successful' to 'Maybe I can
improve if I do this differently or
set realistic goals.
Learned Helplessness
If the confidence levels of a
performer lowers this can
lead to self-doubt and the
performer may question
their ability to complete the
task, which in turn could
lead to anxiety.
Dweck (1975) Proposed this concept. Consequently
performers feel that when faced with particular
situations they are unlikely to ne successful and
that failure is inevitable.
'Feelings experienced by an individual when
they face believes that failure is inevitable
because of negative because of negative past
experiences.
Other reasons may contribute to this, such as; negative feedback, criticism, lack of success. Also
factors contributing to self efficacy.
General Learned Helplessness
Suggests that the performer will
think failure is inevitable in all
types of sport. e.g. an individual
may feel that they are unable to
be successful in all water based
sports because they have a
previous negative experience
whilst swimming.
Specific Learned Helplessness
Suggests that the
performer may not
necessarily be
concerned about all
water sport based
activities but certain
sports. e.g. when
canoeing they may
have capsized
several times and
been unable to
control their
movement. As a
result they lack the
confidence and feel
unable to attempt
canoeing again for
fear of failure.
Strategies to Avoid Learned Helplessness
All Strategies used to improve self-efficacy
One-to-one attention
Mental Rehearsal
Setting performance goals rather than outcome goals