Attribution style, theory and empirical findings

Abstract

Attribution theory is a long-standing and widely discussed theory that addresses individuals’ explanation of causes of events. People attribute events of success and failure individually. Previous studies indicate that performance in sporting events may be improved by changing individuals’ attribution style. Article one describes attribution and attribution theory as state of the art. The article addresses the most important findings within attribution theories such as Fritz Heiders’ social perception and impersonal/personal causality, Kelley’s covariation model and Weiners’ attribution – based theory of motivation. The article highlights five underlying causal dimensions: internality, stability, controllability, globality and intentionality. These may clarify why athletes’ explain causes of success and failure as they do in addition to explain gender differences in sporting situations. Attribution theory is a cognitive approach that seeks to investigate causal roles that influence subsequent behavior. Behavior analyses disagree and argue to be more accurate when acquiring understanding of individuals’ attributions for causes of success and failure. Article two comprehends the use of Sport Attributional Style Scale to investigate gender differences on 40 (20 males, 20 females) Norwegian athletes’. This is a self-report, one-time questionnaire sent on Gmail to athletes’ who participated in a sport either on a national or international level. The findings of the study are not in line with the assumption that male athletes’ attribute in a greater extent than female athletes’ to internal, stable and controllable factors to successful events. The study provides a basis for further investigations of the Norwegian athletes’ attribution style.