10/29/21; W06 Blog: Attributional Tendencies

 

One of the aspects acquired from the video is about Attributions that are the perceived causes that people’s events in their lives. Each culture has different attributional tendencies to one degree or another. Sometimes they're very similar, but they're always a little different, it just depends on what culture it is. Attributional tendencies refer to what do we attribute success, to what do we attribute our personal failures, to what do we attribute the successes of others, to what do we attribute the failures of others. In all cultures, we're always attributing things to other things, like other causes.

In a classroom teachers use these kind of sentences: You did it! Good Job! You are smart!, these are teacher attributions and expectations that affect learning in the classroom. I remember that I had an English teacher in high school who told me many positive statements, so I felt motivated in every class, because of her kind words. I think these attributions can have a lasting impact on students' learning and motivation for future activities.

I read an article about the psychologist Bernard Weiner who said that the most important factors affecting attributions are ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck. If a student attributes a success or failure to be external or stable, then motivation and attempts to engage in similar tasks in the future will decline. However, if a student attributes a success or failure to be internal, unstable, and controllable then motivation and engagement in similar tasks in the future will increase. All verbal statements are attributions of success or failure, in this case teachers are responsable to communicate them, so students will be motivated during the class.