Year 2 - Attribution In Sport

Question 1

What can attribution theory be linked to?

Answer 1

Motivation

Question 2

Define attributions

Answer 2

The perceived causes of a particular outcome. Important to consider as they can directly affect motivation

Question 3

What are the two stable elements of Weiner’s attribution model?

Answer 3

Ability and Task Difficulty

Question 4

What are the two unstable elements of Weiner’s attribution model?

Answer 4

Effort and Luck

Question 5

What are the two dimensions of Weiner’s model of attribution?

Answer 5

Locus of causality and stability dimension

Question 6

What is a self-serving bias?

Answer 6

A performers tendency to attribute failure to external reasons

Question 7

What are some examples of external causes of failure?

Answer 7

• The referee was bias
• The other team were lucky
• Our teamwork was not great, not just my performance

Question 8

In order to feed the self-serving bias, what type of causes would athletes who succeed attribute winning to?

Answer 8

Internal causes (effort, ability, practice etc.)

Question 9

Why do we need to feed our self-serving bias?

Answer 9

Important to protect self-esteem as well as motivation. A coach should be fully aware of this.

Question 10

What is learned helplessness?

Answer 10

Belief that failure is inevitable and a feeling of hopelessness when faced with a particular situation

Question 11

If an individual is motivated by becoming an expert in their skill development of sporting performance, what is this known as?

Answer 11

Mastery orientation

Question 12

What is attribution retraining?

Answer 12

Rather than blaming a poor performance on external factors, a coach should focus on internal, unstable factors which are controllable to help improve performance

Question 13

Practice questions on page 127

Answer 13

No answer here, just look at the practice questions!