A study comparing mean locus of control and attribution scores of 137 elementary students found that underachieving gifted students' mean attribution scores were higher than other groups for ability in success situations. Underachieving gifted and non-gifted students' mean scores were higher than achieving gifted peers for externality and luck in…

Investigated effect of sentence ambiguity on recall and recognition of story information by aggressive and nonaggressive boys. Found that aggressive boys recalled approximately equal proportions of ambiguous and unambiguous information. Nonaggressive boys recalled more unambiguous than ambiguous information. Nonaggressive boys recognized…

Examined depressive symptoms and achievement attributions in 51 attention deficit-disordered (ADD) and 51 normal school children. Found that ADD children acknowledged having more depressive symptoms and displayed more external attributions both for positive and for negative achievement than did normal children. (Author)

Eight female fourth- and fifth-grade mathematics teachers, 69 of their middle-class pupils, and the pupils' parents were asked to indicate the extent to which each of 10 given causes influenced the pupil's grade. Their perceptions on teacher, pupil, and parent responsibility for success and failure are compared. (Author/SJL)

This study was conducted to examine the effects of consultation on consultee perceptions of the causality of children's school- related problems and the expectations for successful problem resolution. Participants were 39 volunteer teachers from Catholic elementary schools, none of whom had ever before worked with a consultant. Consultants were 7…

Following a mathematics test, 134 sixth-graders from different social class/national origin groups, were asked to attribute causality for their success or failure. All groups tended to attribute success more to internal than external causes and more to stable than unstable causes. Attributions of failure varied between the groups. (Author/SJL)

Differences in children's interpersonal perceptions and in their conceptions of behavior disorders in hypothetical peers were investigated in a sample of 34 boys between the ages of 10 and 13. Two groups of subjects were formed: 17 subjects attended special classes for the emotionally handicapped and were classified as exhibiting conduct problems…

This study compared the causal attribution by sex for academic failures of 38 learning disabled and 38 nondisabled elementary school students. The relationship between different attributional tendencies and a reading persistence task were also examined. (BS)

While research on prosocial behavior has dramatically increased during the last 20 years, there are few studies examining the role of self-evaluative emotions such as pride and guilt as consequences of and motivations for helping others. This study examined how children attribute pride and guilt for actions germane to the moral or competence…

An intervention program, consisting of story grammar training and/or attribution training, was designed to remediate the failure of poor readers to use metacognitive skills. Using 42 fourth-grade poor readers in three different treatment groups, results showed strategic training produced dramatic gains in reading comprehension. (BS)

Found that (1) children perceived that school failure attributed to lack of competence, task difficulty, and a bad explanation by the teacher is controllable; and (2) children with problems in learning and concentration perceived failure attributed to lack of effort as noncontrollable more often than did children without such problems. (BB)

The outcome interpretations, attributions for the outcome, expectancies of future test outcomes, and perceptions concerning instrumental actions of four Finnish elementary school teachers and their 84 sixth-grade students were compared after a math exam. Disagreements between teachers and students on these points reflect biases on the part of…

Research has shown that race, social class, and gender influence teacher expectations of student performance. To investigate teacher expectations for the academic performance and future occupational status of white and Asian elementary school children, and the teacher attributions for their performance, 25 white elementary school teachers (23…

The relationships among prior achievement, individual outcome, team outcome, and students' achievement and academic perceptions were studied for 190 students (grades 3 through 7) learning mathematics in teams. Subjects' teachers also participated. Team outcome was related to achievement and academic perceptions, but not to prior achievement and…

This study examined the relationship between attributions for success and failure and mathematics achievement in African American, Hispanic, Indochinese, and Caucasian elementary students. Students completed the Sydney Attribution Scale and Wide Range Achievement Test. Across groups, high achievement related to attributing success to ability, not…