The DOI matches its Crossref record; 125 of the 126 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion
Abstract
In this chapter a theory of motivation and emotion developed from an attributional perspective is presented. Before undertaking this central task, it might be beneficial to review the progression of the book. In Chapter 1 it was suggested that causal attributions have been prevalent throughout history and in disparate cultures. Studies reviewed in Chapter 2 revealed a large number of causal ascriptions within motivational domains, and different ascriptions in disparate domains. Yet some attributions, particularly ability and effort in the achievement area, dominate causal thinking. To compare and contrast causes such as ability and effort, their common denominators or shared properties were identified. Three causal dimensions, examined in Chapter 3, are locus, stability, and controllability, with intentionality and globality as other possible causal properties. As documented in Chapter 4, the perceived stability of a cause influences the subjective probability of success following a previous success or failure; causes perceived as enduring increase the certainty that the prior outcome will be repeated in the future. And all the causal dimensions, as well as the outcome of an activity and specific causes, influence the emotions experienced after attainment or nonattainment of a goal. The affects linked to causal dimensions include pride (with locus), hopelessness and resignation (with stability), and anger, gratitude, guilt, pity, and shame (with controllability).
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In the citing paper
“Thus, following outcome appraisal, learners attribute their success or failure based on three dimensions: locus of causality (internal vs. external), stability (stable vs. unstable), and controllability (controllable vs. uncontrollable), which are associated with a specific emotion (Weiner, 1985).”
In the citing paper
“Self-esteem (pride) is linked with an internal locus of causality, such as ability, which is stable but uncontrollable.”
In the citing paper
“Outcome appraisal is characterized by a sequence of linking the perceived success or failure with a positive or negative emotion.”
In the citing paper
“Both self-esteem and guilt are intrinsically directed emotions, which may affect learners' motivation through causal attribution and activate adaptive behaviors (Weiner, 1985) for regulation of attention.”
In the citing paper
“Among the implicit strategies, outcome appraisal (Weiner, 1985) is the major implicit activity in this genre.”
In the citing paper
“Guilt is derived from a controllable cause, such as efforts, which are directed inward but are unstable.”
In the citing paper
“Causal attribution, which follows the outcome appraisal, may have implication for university students' regulation of their attention.”
In the citing paper
“By linking the perceived success or failure of attention with a positive or negative emotion, learners are engaged in causal attribution of their attention outcome based on Weiner (1985).”
In the citing paper
“sustaining motivation,4”
From Two prefrontal-subcortical circuits estimate controllability and reflect its impact on learning (2026) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“The result is cynicism towards change since employees do not believe themselves able to affect change outcomes.”
From Creating a workforce of fatigued cynics? A randomized controlled trial of implementing an algorithmic decision-making support tool (2024) · cites this paper as Weiner, 1985
In the citing paper
“According to the self-serving bias, the human operator would likely distort the trust adjustment process to maintain self-esteem, by appreciating the correct recommendation less than they should have done in Pattern 3.”
From Toward Quantifying Trust Dynamics: How People Adjust Their Trust After Moment-to-Moment Interaction With Automation (2023) · cites this paper as Weiner, 1985
In the citing paper
“O trabalho de elaboração, revisão e refinamento do instrumento foi baseado na literatura da área (Piccinini, 1989;Ryan & Deci, 2000;Weiner, 1985) e também nos resultados obtidos por meio de um estudo piloto.”
From Orientações motivacionais, crenças educacionais e desempenho escolar de estudantes do ensino fundamental (2010) · cites this paper as Weiner, 1985
In the citing paper
“Gender differences in response styles may become evident during adolescence and girls are more likely to use ruminative coping and response styles [37], that include repetitive or frequent negative thinking, and internal versus external attribution of negative experiences [38], which can increase the risk of depressive symptoms.”
From Social Media Use and Depressive Symptoms Among United States Adolescents (2021) · cites this paper as [38]
In the citing paper
“Moral emotions are cognitively multi-faceted (Eisenberg, 2000) and entail complex causal attributions (Weiner, 1985), such as who caused an outcome.”
From Affective Cognition and its Disruption in Mood Disorders (2011) · cites this paper as Weiner, 1985
Citations
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990) · Imagination, Cognition and Personality · doi:10.2190/dugg-p24e-52wk-6cdg · Cited by 10,484
Motivational beliefs, values, and goals
Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135153 · Cited by 7,587
Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation
Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000) · Contemporary Educational Psychology · doi:10.1006/ceps.1999.1015 · Cited by 7,383
Core affect and the psychological construction of emotion.
Russell, J. A. (2003) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.110.1.145 · Cited by 6,113
Pekrun, R. (2006) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9 · Cited by 5,566
Metadata
- Authors
- Weiner, B.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Corresponding author
- Weiner, Bernard
- Venue
- Psychological Review
- Published
- 1985
- Volume
- 92
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 548-573
- ISSN
- 0033-295X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1471
- OpenAlex
- W2018255452
- Cited by
- 7,846
- References
- 126
- Citations by year
- 2026: 505 · 2025: 372 · 2024: 301 · 2023: 373 · 2022: 351 · 2021: 356 · 2020: 324 · 2019: 373 · 2018: 342 · 2017: 321 · 2016: 322 · 2015: 314 · 2014: 326 · 2013: 281 · 2012: 273
- FWCI
- 64.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH38014)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
- Keywords
- attribution theory, achievement motivation, emotions, causal attribution, controllability, ability attribution, effort attribution, success and failure, pride, hopelessness, resignation, anger, guilt, shame, gratitude, pity, emotion and motivation
- MeSH terms
- Achievement, Anger, Aptitude, Criminal Law, Decision Making, Emotions, Guilt, Helping Behavior, Humans, Internal-External Control, Motivation, Psychological Theory, Shame, Smoking
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