Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1990, 71, 219-224.
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1990
CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS O F PHYSICAL EDUCATION MAJORS AND MENTALLY RETARDED ADULTS ' BONI BOSWELL East Carolina Uniuersity
AND
GARY ARBOGAST Cenlral Michigan University
Summary.-This exploratory study examined the causal attributions and expectancies of 51 phys~caleducation majors and 25 mentally retarded adults. The majors completed a wrltren questionnaire concerning their causal attributions and expectancies for motor performance of the adults. The adults responded through an interview procedure regarding causal attributions and expectancies for their own motor performance. Analysis did not support the hypothesis that people make stable attributions about the performance of mentally retarded populations and subsequently maintain low expectancies. Previous experiences of failure did not diminish the expectancies of the adults for their own future succcess.
'
Critical to the identification of appropriate strategies for working with special populations is development of a deeper understanding of the interaction between the significant other (teacher, coach, etc.) and the participant. The experience of the participant in an achievement situation is affected by several factors, one of which is the reaction of the significant other to the outcome. The significant other's reaction is based largely on how that person perceives and explains the participant's behavior. These explanations have been termed causal attributions and have been described as factors which influence the significant other's expectancies for the participant's level of future success (4). Relevancy of attribution and subsequent expectancy was further underscored by Weiner (7) in his discussion of a model for achievement behavior. Causal attributions were analyzed along three dimensions, stability, control, and locus. Of greatest import to the present study is the link between the first dimension, stability, and expectancies. The dimension of stability involves either stable or unstable attributions. Typically, general ability and task difficulty are considered stable attributions, whereas effort and luck are often considered unstable attributions. Stable attributions are explanations which are maintained through time and continue to influence expectancies. Unstable attributions vary with time and expectancies would be subject to change. In a situation involving disabled populations in which the disabled person has performed poorly, the significant other may attribute the performance to lack of ability. If ability-is defined as general competence-and not
'Request reprints from Dr. Boni BosweU, Department of HPERS, East Carolma University, Greenville. NC 27858-4353.
220
B. BOSWELL & G. ARBOGAST
subject to change, it would be considered stable. In accordance with the Weiner paradigm, the significant other develops low expectancy for the person's future performance. Weiner suggests that under these conditions the performer is likely to develop low expectancies for future success, also. The significance of expectancies stems from the notion that expectancies color type of feedback given to the performer and this feedback elicits certain behaviors. Expectancies potentially serve to create what Merton ( 5 ) termed self-fulfilling prophecy for the performer. Brophy (I.) supported this theory, but stressed the need KO examine the consistency of expectancies. She emphasized that a basic principle underlying the self-fulfilling prophecy is that the influence of the instructor's expectancies is operative only when they remain constant, regardless of the performance of the student. If causal attributions are such strong modifiers of behavior, it seems important to examine this in a movement setting. The present study examined this interaction in a setting involving physical education majors and mentally retarded adults. Specifically, this study was designed to (a) identify what causal attributions were used by both groups to explain the motor performance of the mentally retarded adults, (b) classify these attributions according to the dimension of stability, and (c) examine the expectancies of both groups for future success of the mentally retarded adults' motor performance at the beginning and at the end of an 8-wk. period. METHOD Data were collected from 5 1 physical education majors ages 19 to 23 yr., and 26 mentally retarded adults, ages 21 to 52 yr., whose group mean IQ was 54.42. All subjects were enrolled in one of two sections of an 8-wk. practicum. In each section, the majors were randomly paired with the adults. One week before and one week after the 8-wk. practicum, the majors adrninistered four motor test items to the adults. Throughout the 8-wk. period, the majors planned and implemented motor activities for the adults. Before the practicum, the majors received general information concerning mental retardation and were given a protocol for administering four motor test items: two physical fitness tasks (number of sit-ups in 30 sec. and time on 300-yd. run) and two motor ability tasks (throwing and lucking for accuracy). Performance by the adults on these items was the focus of questions concerning attributions and expectancies of both groups. After both administrations of the motor items, each major was asked to explain why he thought the adult with whom he worked scored high or low on each task and to rate the level of expectancy for success in the future on each task. The majors completed a written questionnaire containing two kinds of questions: (a) open-ended questions concerning their causal attributions for motor performance of the mentally retarded adults and (b) a 7-point
CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS FOR PERFORMANCE
22 1
rating scale regatding their expectancies for the mentally retarded adults' future success. Only data from one of the sections of adults were obtained because permissions for inclusion of the other section of adults was not available before the beginning of the study. The adults were also asked after each testing to explain why they thought they scored high or low on the tasks and to state whether they expected to be successful in the future on each task. The mentally retarded adults responded through an interview consisting of openended questions about their causal attributions and yes or no questions concerning their expectancies for future success on each motor task. The interview was conducted after administration of each of the four motor tasks. Following each of the four motor tasks, the majors ushered their assigned adults to one of three trained interviewers. The interview protocol required asking the adults to express verbally reasons for their performance. The adult's score was given to the interviewer who categorized it according to a predetermined scale. This scale for high and low on the motor ability items (limb accuracy) was based on the investigators' previous experience with disabled adults. With respect to the limb accuracy items, the total range of scores was 9 points. High was considered 6 points and above, and low was 5 points or lower. The fitness items were categorized according to the ranking of the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Motor Fitness Testing Manual for Moderately Mentally Retarded. Scores were considered high if they fell in the 80th percentile or above for 19-yr.-old adults and scores were considered low below this point. Immediately after recording the adults' answers concerning their causal attributions, the interviewer a;ked the adult if he expected to be successful on that task in the future. Only yes and no was recorded concerning the adults' expectancies.
Analysis of Data Analysis of attributions of both groups was based on a coding system developed by Elig and Freize (2), A Multidimensional Scheme for Coding and Interpreting Perceived Causality for Success and Failure Events: The C o l n g Scheme of Perceived Causality. Based on the theoretical work of Weiner and practical applications, this coding system defines and discusses 19 causal categories. The system necessitates that attributions are coded for category and then analyzed according to dimension. Only the dimension of stabdity was examined. The two investigators and one independent coder analyzed d open-ended responses. Reliability based on percentage of agreement among the three coders yielded 93% for 25 responses randomly drawn from the first 50 coded responses. Frequencies of categories and dimensions were tallied and corresponding percentages were computed.
222
B. BOSWELL & G. ARBOGAST
Expectancies for the majors from both sections were combined. Initial and final expectancies were correlated for both the two physical fitness items and for the two motor ability items by the Pearson method. Chi-squared analysis was used to examine expectancies of the mentally retarded adults.
As presented in Table 1, the two most frequently cited categories for the majors were ability and effort and for the mentally retarded adults, effort and intrinsic motive. Unique to the mentally retarded adults was the response "internal criteria." Concerning dimensional analysis, the majors stated attributions that were most often unstable (77.4%). The adults stated self-attributions that were primarily stable (61.8%). Expectancies of both groups were analyzed separately. To examine the stability of the majors' expectancies, initial and final expectancies were correlated. Pearson correlations of initial and final expectancies were for the fitness items .23 and for motor ability items .34. Values of chi squared indicated that adults' expectancies were significantly more positive than negative concerning their expectancies for future success (X,2 = 72.25, p < ,011. TABLE 1 FREQUENCY A N D PERCENTAGES OF CAUSAL A ~ U ~ O N S Causal Attributions Ability Effort Body Type Personality Intrinsic Motive Task Difficulty Mood, Fatigue Luck Other Situation Help/Hurt AbilityITask Interaction Comprehension Total Codable Res~onses
Physical Education Majors
Mentally Retarded Adults
f
%
f
%
238 144 30 19
39.8 24.0 5.0 3.2 8.8 3 .O 4.0
5 21 1
9.1 38.2 1.8
11 4 3 2 7 1
20.0 7.3 5.5
53 18 24
5
.8
14 11 43 599
2.3 1.8 7.2
3.6 12.7 1.8
55
The prevalence of ability and effort as causal attributions of the majors parallels results in other achievement situations. Ability and effort have been described as the most salient and frequently used attributions. Dimensional analysis for the majors gave an unstable pattern. Although the majors cited attributions which were categorized as ability, these attributions did not fit the definition in the manual of stable abiliry. Stable ability was defined as the general competence or basic intelligence of the person. Over-all, this
CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS FOR PERFORMANCE
223
finding appears positive because the label "mentally retarded" did not predispose t h s group to attribute failure to stable factors. For the mentally retarded adults, effort and intrinsic motive were the most frequently cited causal categories. Intrinsic motive was considered important. I t is interesting that this group perceived themselves as more intrinsically motivated (20%) than the majors (8 8%) perceived them to be. The majors did not indicate awareness of the internal motivation that was an important factor in the adults' behavior. If intrinsic motives are such strong influences on outcome, one must consider the consequences of offering extrinsic rewards for these activities. I t has been reported that under certain conditions (6) rewards have reduced the interest in an activity previously performed for its own sake. The third most frequently cited category was "other situation," defined as efforts of others or elements in the situation. Representative of this category was the response "My coach taught me." Dimensional analysis of the adult group's categories offered a large percentage (61.7%) of responses w h c h were stable. Dimensional analysis yielded only one stable response for failure which was classified as ability. The tendency for mentally retarded populations to attribute failure to stable ability was not supported. The mentally retarded adults reported one new response to failure outcome which was not considered an attribution but was labeled internal criterion. I n these cases, the responses indicated that the objective outcomes were not synonymous with the participants' perception of success. This response could be considered vestiges i f participation in success-only programs. If mentally retarded persons are offered only positive feedback in an attempt to foster self-concept, this could diminish willingness to accept evaluative feedback. With respect to expectancies, correlations indicate that the majors' expectancies changed as the adults' performances changed. The positive expectancies of the adults indicate that experiences of negative feedback and failure did not diminish their expectancies for future success. I n sum, the results do not support the hypothesis that people often make stable attributions about low performance of mentally retarded populations. Perhaps more importantly the results suggested the relationship between intrinsic motive and external rewards and the long-term effects of success only programs requires clarification. REFERENCES 1.
BROPHY,J. E. (1982) Research on the self-fulfilling prophecy and teacher expectations.
Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York City. 2. ELIG, T. W,, & FRIEZE, I. H . (1975) A multidimensional scheme for coding and interpreting causality: the codng system. Psychological Documents, 5, 313. (MS No. 1069) K. J. (1971) The concept ofself. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. 3. GERGEN,
B. BOSWELL & G. ARBOGAST 4. LEWKO,J. (1978) Significant others and handicapped children. In J. C. Small & C. G. Roberts (Eds.), Psychological perrpectives in chikiren & youth sports. New York: Wiey. Pp. 291-299. 5. MERTON,R. R. (1946) The self-fulfilling prophecy. Antioch Review, 8, 193-210. 6 ROSS, M. (1976) The self-percytion, of + t r h i c motivation In J. H. Harvey, W.J. Ickes, & R. F. Kidd (Eds.), New zrectzons zn athrbuhon research. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Pp. 121-141. 7. WEINER, B. (1979) A theory of motivation for some classroom experiences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 7 1 , 3-25. Accepted July 3, 1990.
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1990
CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS O F PHYSICAL EDUCATION MAJORS AND MENTALLY RETARDED ADULTS ' BONI BOSWELL East Carolina Uniuersity
AND
GARY ARBOGAST Cenlral Michigan University
Summary.-This exploratory study examined the causal attributions and expectancies of 51 phys~caleducation majors and 25 mentally retarded adults. The majors completed a wrltren questionnaire concerning their causal attributions and expectancies for motor performance of the adults. The adults responded through an interview procedure regarding causal attributions and expectancies for their own motor performance. Analysis did not support the hypothesis that people make stable attributions about the performance of mentally retarded populations and subsequently maintain low expectancies. Previous experiences of failure did not diminish the expectancies of the adults for their own future succcess.
'
Critical to the identification of appropriate strategies for working with special populations is development of a deeper understanding of the interaction between the significant other (teacher, coach, etc.) and the participant. The experience of the participant in an achievement situation is affected by several factors, one of which is the reaction of the significant other to the outcome. The significant other's reaction is based largely on how that person perceives and explains the participant's behavior. These explanations have been termed causal attributions and have been described as factors which influence the significant other's expectancies for the participant's level of future success (4). Relevancy of attribution and subsequent expectancy was further underscored by Weiner (7) in his discussion of a model for achievement behavior. Causal attributions were analyzed along three dimensions, stability, control, and locus. Of greatest import to the present study is the link between the first dimension, stability, and expectancies. The dimension of stability involves either stable or unstable attributions. Typically, general ability and task difficulty are considered stable attributions, whereas effort and luck are often considered unstable attributions. Stable attributions are explanations which are maintained through time and continue to influence expectancies. Unstable attributions vary with time and expectancies would be subject to change. In a situation involving disabled populations in which the disabled person has performed poorly, the significant other may attribute the performance to lack of ability. If ability-is defined as general competence-and not
'Request reprints from Dr. Boni BosweU, Department of HPERS, East Carolma University, Greenville. NC 27858-4353.
220
B. BOSWELL & G. ARBOGAST
subject to change, it would be considered stable. In accordance with the Weiner paradigm, the significant other develops low expectancy for the person's future performance. Weiner suggests that under these conditions the performer is likely to develop low expectancies for future success, also. The significance of expectancies stems from the notion that expectancies color type of feedback given to the performer and this feedback elicits certain behaviors. Expectancies potentially serve to create what Merton ( 5 ) termed self-fulfilling prophecy for the performer. Brophy (I.) supported this theory, but stressed the need KO examine the consistency of expectancies. She emphasized that a basic principle underlying the self-fulfilling prophecy is that the influence of the instructor's expectancies is operative only when they remain constant, regardless of the performance of the student. If causal attributions are such strong modifiers of behavior, it seems important to examine this in a movement setting. The present study examined this interaction in a setting involving physical education majors and mentally retarded adults. Specifically, this study was designed to (a) identify what causal attributions were used by both groups to explain the motor performance of the mentally retarded adults, (b) classify these attributions according to the dimension of stability, and (c) examine the expectancies of both groups for future success of the mentally retarded adults' motor performance at the beginning and at the end of an 8-wk. period. METHOD Data were collected from 5 1 physical education majors ages 19 to 23 yr., and 26 mentally retarded adults, ages 21 to 52 yr., whose group mean IQ was 54.42. All subjects were enrolled in one of two sections of an 8-wk. practicum. In each section, the majors were randomly paired with the adults. One week before and one week after the 8-wk. practicum, the majors adrninistered four motor test items to the adults. Throughout the 8-wk. period, the majors planned and implemented motor activities for the adults. Before the practicum, the majors received general information concerning mental retardation and were given a protocol for administering four motor test items: two physical fitness tasks (number of sit-ups in 30 sec. and time on 300-yd. run) and two motor ability tasks (throwing and lucking for accuracy). Performance by the adults on these items was the focus of questions concerning attributions and expectancies of both groups. After both administrations of the motor items, each major was asked to explain why he thought the adult with whom he worked scored high or low on each task and to rate the level of expectancy for success in the future on each task. The majors completed a written questionnaire containing two kinds of questions: (a) open-ended questions concerning their causal attributions for motor performance of the mentally retarded adults and (b) a 7-point
CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS FOR PERFORMANCE
22 1
rating scale regatding their expectancies for the mentally retarded adults' future success. Only data from one of the sections of adults were obtained because permissions for inclusion of the other section of adults was not available before the beginning of the study. The adults were also asked after each testing to explain why they thought they scored high or low on the tasks and to state whether they expected to be successful in the future on each task. The mentally retarded adults responded through an interview consisting of openended questions about their causal attributions and yes or no questions concerning their expectancies for future success on each motor task. The interview was conducted after administration of each of the four motor tasks. Following each of the four motor tasks, the majors ushered their assigned adults to one of three trained interviewers. The interview protocol required asking the adults to express verbally reasons for their performance. The adult's score was given to the interviewer who categorized it according to a predetermined scale. This scale for high and low on the motor ability items (limb accuracy) was based on the investigators' previous experience with disabled adults. With respect to the limb accuracy items, the total range of scores was 9 points. High was considered 6 points and above, and low was 5 points or lower. The fitness items were categorized according to the ranking of the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Motor Fitness Testing Manual for Moderately Mentally Retarded. Scores were considered high if they fell in the 80th percentile or above for 19-yr.-old adults and scores were considered low below this point. Immediately after recording the adults' answers concerning their causal attributions, the interviewer a;ked the adult if he expected to be successful on that task in the future. Only yes and no was recorded concerning the adults' expectancies.
Analysis of Data Analysis of attributions of both groups was based on a coding system developed by Elig and Freize (2), A Multidimensional Scheme for Coding and Interpreting Perceived Causality for Success and Failure Events: The C o l n g Scheme of Perceived Causality. Based on the theoretical work of Weiner and practical applications, this coding system defines and discusses 19 causal categories. The system necessitates that attributions are coded for category and then analyzed according to dimension. Only the dimension of stabdity was examined. The two investigators and one independent coder analyzed d open-ended responses. Reliability based on percentage of agreement among the three coders yielded 93% for 25 responses randomly drawn from the first 50 coded responses. Frequencies of categories and dimensions were tallied and corresponding percentages were computed.
222
B. BOSWELL & G. ARBOGAST
Expectancies for the majors from both sections were combined. Initial and final expectancies were correlated for both the two physical fitness items and for the two motor ability items by the Pearson method. Chi-squared analysis was used to examine expectancies of the mentally retarded adults.
As presented in Table 1, the two most frequently cited categories for the majors were ability and effort and for the mentally retarded adults, effort and intrinsic motive. Unique to the mentally retarded adults was the response "internal criteria." Concerning dimensional analysis, the majors stated attributions that were most often unstable (77.4%). The adults stated self-attributions that were primarily stable (61.8%). Expectancies of both groups were analyzed separately. To examine the stability of the majors' expectancies, initial and final expectancies were correlated. Pearson correlations of initial and final expectancies were for the fitness items .23 and for motor ability items .34. Values of chi squared indicated that adults' expectancies were significantly more positive than negative concerning their expectancies for future success (X,2 = 72.25, p < ,011. TABLE 1 FREQUENCY A N D PERCENTAGES OF CAUSAL A ~ U ~ O N S Causal Attributions Ability Effort Body Type Personality Intrinsic Motive Task Difficulty Mood, Fatigue Luck Other Situation Help/Hurt AbilityITask Interaction Comprehension Total Codable Res~onses
Physical Education Majors
Mentally Retarded Adults
f
%
f
%
238 144 30 19
39.8 24.0 5.0 3.2 8.8 3 .O 4.0
5 21 1
9.1 38.2 1.8
11 4 3 2 7 1
20.0 7.3 5.5
53 18 24
5
.8
14 11 43 599
2.3 1.8 7.2
3.6 12.7 1.8
55
The prevalence of ability and effort as causal attributions of the majors parallels results in other achievement situations. Ability and effort have been described as the most salient and frequently used attributions. Dimensional analysis for the majors gave an unstable pattern. Although the majors cited attributions which were categorized as ability, these attributions did not fit the definition in the manual of stable abiliry. Stable ability was defined as the general competence or basic intelligence of the person. Over-all, this
CAUSAL ATTRIBUTIONS FOR PERFORMANCE
223
finding appears positive because the label "mentally retarded" did not predispose t h s group to attribute failure to stable factors. For the mentally retarded adults, effort and intrinsic motive were the most frequently cited causal categories. Intrinsic motive was considered important. I t is interesting that this group perceived themselves as more intrinsically motivated (20%) than the majors (8 8%) perceived them to be. The majors did not indicate awareness of the internal motivation that was an important factor in the adults' behavior. If intrinsic motives are such strong influences on outcome, one must consider the consequences of offering extrinsic rewards for these activities. I t has been reported that under certain conditions (6) rewards have reduced the interest in an activity previously performed for its own sake. The third most frequently cited category was "other situation," defined as efforts of others or elements in the situation. Representative of this category was the response "My coach taught me." Dimensional analysis of the adult group's categories offered a large percentage (61.7%) of responses w h c h were stable. Dimensional analysis yielded only one stable response for failure which was classified as ability. The tendency for mentally retarded populations to attribute failure to stable ability was not supported. The mentally retarded adults reported one new response to failure outcome which was not considered an attribution but was labeled internal criterion. I n these cases, the responses indicated that the objective outcomes were not synonymous with the participants' perception of success. This response could be considered vestiges i f participation in success-only programs. If mentally retarded persons are offered only positive feedback in an attempt to foster self-concept, this could diminish willingness to accept evaluative feedback. With respect to expectancies, correlations indicate that the majors' expectancies changed as the adults' performances changed. The positive expectancies of the adults indicate that experiences of negative feedback and failure did not diminish their expectancies for future success. I n sum, the results do not support the hypothesis that people often make stable attributions about low performance of mentally retarded populations. Perhaps more importantly the results suggested the relationship between intrinsic motive and external rewards and the long-term effects of success only programs requires clarification. REFERENCES 1.
BROPHY,J. E. (1982) Research on the self-fulfilling prophecy and teacher expectations.
Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York City. 2. ELIG, T. W,, & FRIEZE, I. H . (1975) A multidimensional scheme for coding and interpreting causality: the codng system. Psychological Documents, 5, 313. (MS No. 1069) K. J. (1971) The concept ofself. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. 3. GERGEN,
B. BOSWELL & G. ARBOGAST 4. LEWKO,J. (1978) Significant others and handicapped children. In J. C. Small & C. G. Roberts (Eds.), Psychological perrpectives in chikiren & youth sports. New York: Wiey. Pp. 291-299. 5. MERTON,R. R. (1946) The self-fulfilling prophecy. Antioch Review, 8, 193-210. 6 ROSS, M. (1976) The self-percytion, of + t r h i c motivation In J. H. Harvey, W.J. Ickes, & R. F. Kidd (Eds.), New zrectzons zn athrbuhon research. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Pp. 121-141. 7. WEINER, B. (1979) A theory of motivation for some classroom experiences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 7 1 , 3-25. Accepted July 3, 1990.
