ATTRIBUTION OF RESPONSIBILITY AND VALENCE OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN RELATION TO INITIAL CONFIDENCE AND TASK PERFORMANCE

89 male and 78 female undergraduates worked at a 10-item anagrams test containing items of approximately 50% difficulty. Before they began they rated how confident they were that they could pass the test, i.e., solve 5 anagrams or more. Unexpected success was more often attributed to good luck than expected success and was associated with greater satisfaction. Unexpected failure was more often attributed to bad luck than expected failure and was associated with greater dissatisfaction. Ss who just passed or just failed the test were more likely to engage in external attribution than Ss with extreme scores in either direction. Performance was positively related to initial confidence. Females were lower in initial confidence, higher in external attribution, and higher in feelings of inadequacy than were males. Results are discussed in terms of Heiderian theory and a valence-difficulty model. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.