Heider's original attribution model: four causal factors for interpreting achievement outcomes¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The review presents Heider's founding account of attribution theory, in which people strive for prediction and understanding of daily events. In achievement-related events such as athletic contests, "individuals use four attribution factors both to interpret and predict the outcome of the event": ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck. External and internal forces are added together to yield a behavioral outcome to which a causal attribution is ascribed.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• The individual must assess the performer's ability level, effort expended, task difficulty, and magnitude of luck to explain a success or failure outcome

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• athletes in achievement-related sport situations

Target Learning Objectives¶

• interpreting and predicting causes of success and failure in performance outcomes

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• Weiner's dimensional organization of attributions: locus of control, stability, and later controllability

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Fullin, Christine; Mills, Brett D. (1995). Attribution Theory in Sport: Problems and Solutions. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED387439