ON CAUSAL ATTRIBUTION THE INTERACTIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-ESTEEM AND TASK PERFORMANCE

• Published in: Social behavior and personality Vol. 6; no. 2; pp. 211 - 221
• Main Author: Burke, Joy Patricia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: P.O.Box 1539, Palmerston North 4440, New Zealand Scientific Journal Publishers 01.01.1978
• ISSN: 0301-2212
• DOI: 10.2224/sbp.1978.6.2.211

An experiment was conducted to investigate the relationship between sell-esteem and performance outcome as these variables related to causal attribution. Subjects with low, medium, and high self-esteem attributed success and failure outcomes at an achievement-related task to ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck. Results indicated that (a) success was attributed more that? failure to ability and effort, (b) performance outcomes consistent with self-esteem were attributed more than inconsistent outcomes to ability and task difficulty, and (c) performance outcomes inconsistent with self-esteem were attributed more than consistent outcomes to luck. Only the attribution pattern resulting for effort was not largely a function of consistency (or inconsistency) of performance feedback. Rather, performance outcome itself was the dominant influence. The significance of these results is discussed.