Journal article
Attributions for Successful and Unsuccessful Health Behavior Change
Basic and applied social psychology, Vol.11(4), pp.421-431
12/01/1990
DOI: 10.1207/s15324834basp1104_5
Abstract
In an application of Weiner's (1985) attributional theory of motivation, 466 undergraduates gave attributions for their own successful or unsuccessful health behavior changes using a retrospective incident-report questionnaire. Scores from the Causal Dimension Scale (CDS; Russell, 1982) indicated that the average attribution was internal, unstable, and controllable, and that success attributions were more stable and controllable than failure attributions. By a large margin, the most common attribution types were internal-unstable-controllable causes for unsuccessful attempts, followed by internal-stable-controllable and internal-unstable-controllable causes for successes. These findings correspond to a pattern known as personal changeability of causes, which enhances perceived control ova both positive and negative outcomes. Stable attributions were associated with maintenance of health behavior changes and with expectations that negative outcomes would continue into the future. The personal-changeability tendency was strong for change attempts involving eating, but modified by a self-serving effect for exercise and substance use and by a self-effacing effect for road safety.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Attributions for Successful and Unsuccessful Health Behavior Change
- Creators
- Thomas J. SchoenemanSusan Curry
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Basic and applied social psychology, Vol.11(4), pp.421-431
- Publisher
- Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc
- DOI
- 10.1207/s15324834basp1104_5
- ISSN
- 0197-3533
- eISSN
- 1532-4834
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 12/01/1990
- Academic Unit
- Health Management and Policy; Community and Behavioral Health
- Record Identifier
- 9984366373602771
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