In "Utilization Focused Evaluation" (1997), Patton introduced the term "process use" to describe changes in thinking and behavior, whether at the individual, program, or organizational level, as a result of one's participation in an evaluation, irrespective of the evaluation results. In conversations with stakeholders, Patton found that although…

Since the phenomenon of fossilization in interlanguage is proposed by Selinker in 1972, it has drawn much attention and commonly acknowledged at home and abroad. This paper introduces the definition, classification, presentation, and causal factors of fossilization in an attempt to help Chinese students better understand the phenomenon and avoid…

This study involves the use of methods derived from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to change the attributions for success and failure of school children with regard to learning. Children with learning difficulties and/or motivational and self-esteem difficulties (n = 29) were identified by their schools. The children then took part in twelve…

Experienced managers know that perceptions matter greatly when it comes to working effectively with employees. The task for organizational behavior (OB) instructors, especially in the undergraduate classroom, is to make the perceptions topic come alive for students who may not appreciate at first the application and significance of this subject…

This article brings together, and builds upon, previous scholarship on juvenile delinquency, motherhood, and education in 1950s America, and explores how the widespread contention that inadequate mothering was responsible for a rise in juvenile crime and social deviance helped shape the organization of schooling in the postwar era. In the first…

The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between attribution and selected personality dispositions, as well as self-serving attribution. Four hypotheses were formulated: (1) Attributions for positive events correlate differently with the five personality dispositions than attributions for negative events, (2) factor analysis and…

The present study employed a functional approach to assess the motivations of tutors volunteering at a non-profit tutoring program. Based on the work of Clary et al. (1998), the "Volunteer Functions Inventory" (VFI) was used to differentiate between six different functions or motivations; values, understanding, social, career, protective and…

This qualitative study investigated five elementary classroom teachers' perceptions of, and attributions about the school performance of Asian American students. Using naturalistic inquiry, data were obtained through interviews, classroom observations, document reviews and field notes; and were analyzed using grounded theory techniques. The…

Children ranging in age from 4 to 6 years and adults were asked to judge each of a series of videotaped actions as being intentional or unintentional. The series included voluntary acts with both intended and unintended effects, involuntary acts and "object-like" movements. (Author/JMB)

Differences were examined in attribution for academic successes and failures of high school students participating in (N=116) and not participating in (N=86) programs for the gifted. Findings indicated that participating Ss tended to attribute successes to their own effort and ability to a greater degree than nonparticipating students. (Author/CL)

Subjects read two descriptions of an actor responding positively toward a target person with different patterns of information accompanying them. In one description, the subject was the target person. Comparison between two-dimension information patterns implied that when distinctiveness or consensus information was absent results were dependent…

Coded the explanations given by violent offenders (N=44) for locus of attribution and excuse versus justification; and examined the explanations for their relationship to situational variables. Results supported the value, interest and replicability of research on common sense explanations in prison settings. (LLL)

Investigated the factor structure of the Levels of Attribution and Change (LAC) Scale on two samples: adult smokers (N=194) and professional psycho-therapists (N=140). Analysis of data substantiated the utility and internal validity of the LAC theoretical scales and supported the present scoring system. (LLL)

Examined factors in the decisions of 98 battered women to leave or remain in an abusive relationship. Results showed that both economic dependence and psychological commitment were significantly, and independently, related to the decision, and results held for both objective and subjective measures. (JAC)

Reports on a study designed to assess whether attributions or causality of success and failure would vary as a function of sex role attitudes. Indicates that sex-typed notions about competence may still be deeply ingrained despite recent social changes. (Author/MK)