An attributional analysis of achievement motivation.

Six experiments arc reported which relate achievement motivation to causal ascription. The first three experiments revealed that the evaluation of achievement-related outcomes is positively related to the amount of expended effort, but inversely related to level of ability. Evaluative differences between social classes (Experiment II), and disparities between selfand other-judgments (Experiment III) also were examined. In Experiments IV and V individual differences in locus of causality were related to level of achievement needs. The results of these investigations indicate that individuals high in resultant achievement motivation are more likely to take personal responsibility for success than individuals low in achievement motivation. Clear differences in perceived responsibility for failure were not exhibited between the two motive groups. Finally, in Experiment VI risk-preference behavior and Atkinson's theory of achievement motivation were construed in attribution theory language. It was contended that cognitions about causality mediate between level of achievement needs and performance.

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