Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T14:24:09.516Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Attributional Style and Self-Efficacy in Singaporean Adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2012

Lay See Yeo  and
Kayce Tan
Lay See Yeo*
Affiliation:
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Kayce Tan
Affiliation:
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
*
address for correspondence: Dr Lay See Yeo, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, Singapore. Email: laysee.yeo@nie.edu.sg
Get access

Abstract

This investigation examined the relationship between adolescent students’ attributional style and their perceived academic self-efficacy using the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ) (Seligman et al., 1984) and Multidimensional Scales of Perceived Self Efficacy (Bandura, 1989). Attributional style, defined as the way in which people explain events (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978), is represented by three dimensions: permanence, pervasiveness, and personalisation. Statistically significant differences were observed between attributional style for gender and academic streams. Females were more optimistic and hopeful than males. They attributed permanence to good events, but assumed personal responsibility for bad events. Males displayed a more negative attributional style, perceiving negative events as permanent and pervasive. Higher-ability students reported greater optimism about their future compared to their lower-ability students. No gender and ability differences were found for academic self-efficacy. Students’ attributional style was positively associated with their efficacy for self-regulated learning. Findings were interpreted in terms of educational implications and student empowerment, with suggestions made for future studies.

Keywords

adolescent studentsacademic self-efficacyattributional style
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , June 2012 , pp. 82 - 101
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramson, L.Y., Seligman, M.E.P., & Teasdale, J.D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 32–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavior change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1989). Multidimensional Scales of Perceived Self-Efficacy. Unpublished test. Stanford University. Stanford, CA.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.Google Scholar
Beyer, S. (1999). Gender differences in causal attributions by college students of performance on course examinations. Current Psychology, 17, 346–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruning, R., Shraw, G., Norby, M., & Ronning, R. (2004). Cognitive psychology and instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Camgoz, S.M., Tektas, O.O., & Metin, I. (2008). Academic attributional style, self-efficacy and gender: A cross-cultural comparison. Social Behavior and Personality, 36, 97–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, C.R., & Henry, J.W. (1999). Gender differences in self-attributions: Relationship of gender to attributional consistency, style, and expectations for performance in a college course. Sex Roles, 41, 95–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carr, M., & Borkowski, J.G. (1989). Attributional retraining and the generalization of reading strategies by underachievers. Human Learning and Individual Differences, 1, 327–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chong, W.H. (2007). The role of personal agency beliefs in academic self-regulation: An Asian perspective. School Psychology International, 28, 63–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chong, W.H., Huan, V.S., Yeo, L.S., & Ang, R.P. (2006). Asian adolescents’ perceptions of parent, peer, and school support and psychological adjustment: The mediating role of dispositional optimism. Current Psychology, 25, 212–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crandall, V.C., Katkovsky, W., & Crandall, V.J. (1965). Children's beliefs in their own control of reinforcements in intellectual-academic achievement situations. Child Development, 36, 91–109.Google ScholarPubMed
Dweck, C.S., Mangels, J.A., & Good, C. (2004). Do high-achieving female students underperform in private? The implications of threatening environments on intellectual processing. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 796–805.Google Scholar
Eccles, J.S., Wigfield, A., & Schiefele, U. (1998). Motivation to succeed. In Damon, W. & Eisenberg, N. (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Erikson, E.H. (1964). Insight and responsibilites. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.Google Scholar
Fazio, N.M., & Palm, L.J. (1998). Attributional style, depression, and grade point averages of college students. Psychological Reports 83, 159–161.Google ScholarPubMed
Gibb, B.E., Zhu, L., Alloy, L.B., & Abramson, L.Y. (2002). Attributional styles and academic achievement in university students: A longitudinal investigation. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 26, 309–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gravetter, F.J., & Wallnau, L.B. (Eds.). (2004). Statistics for the behavioral sciences (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.Google Scholar
Hampel, P., Meier, M., & Kummel, U. (2008). School-based stress management training for adolescents: Longitudinal results from an experimental study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 1009–1024.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huan, V.S., Yeo, L.S., Ang, R.P., & Chong, W.H. (2008). The impact of adolescent concerns on their academic stress. Educational Review, 60, 169–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hui, E.K.P. (2000). Personal concerns and their causes: Perceptions of Hong Kong Chinese adolescent students. Journal of Adolescence, 23, 189–203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacobs, J.E., Lanza, S., Osgood, W., Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Changes in children's self-competence and values: Gender and domain differences across grades one through twelve. Child Development, 73, 509–527.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Khodayarifard, M. (1996). Students’ and their parents’ attributional style, trait anxiety, and socio-demographic factors as predictors of teachers’ perceptions of academic performance in late childhood (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Wollongong, Australia.Google Scholar
Klassen, R.M., Ang, R.P., Chong, W.H., Krawchuk, L.L., Huan, V.S., Wong, I.Y.F., . . . Krawchuk, L.L. (2009). A cross-cultural study of adolescent procrastination. Journal of research on Adolescence, 19, 799–811.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klassen, R.M., & Georgiou, G.K. (2008). Spelling and writing self-efficacy of Indo Canadian and Anglo Canadian early adolescents. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 9, 311–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klassen, R.M., & Kuzucu, E.C. (2009). Academic procrastination and motivation of adolescents in Turkey. Educational Psychology, 29, 69–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kristner, J., Osborne, M., & LeVerrier, L. (1988). Causal attributions of LD children: Developmental patterns and relation to academic progress. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 80, 82–89.Google Scholar
Liu, W.C., & Wang, C.K.J. (2008). Home environment and classroom climate: An investigation of their relation to students’ academic self-concept in a streamed setting. Current Psychology, 27, 242–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, W.C., Wang, C.K.J., & Parkins, E.J. (2005). A longitudinal study of students’ academic self-concept in a streamed setting: The Singapore context. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 567–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKinsey & Co. (2010). How the world's most improved school systems keep getting better. New York: Author. Retrieved April 17, 2012 from http://mckinseyonsociety.com/how-the-worlds-most-improved-school-systems-keep-getting-better/.Google Scholar
Marsh, H.W., Seaton, M., Trautwein, U., Ludtke, O., Hau, K.-T., Mara, A.J.O., . . . Craven, R. (2008). The big-fish-little-pond-effect stands up to critical scrutiny: Implications for theory, methodology, and future research. Educational Psychology Review, 20, 319–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J.S., & Seligman, M.E.P. (1986). Sex differences in depression and explanatory style in children. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20, 233–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J.S., & Seligman, M.E.P. (1991). Sex differences in depression and explanatory style in children. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20, 233–245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
On, L.W. (1996). The cultural context for Chinese learners’ conceptions of learning in the Confucian tradition. In Watkins, D.A. & Biggs, J.B. (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences (pp. 25–41). Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre.Google Scholar
Pajares, F., & Miller, M.D. (1994). Role of self-efficacy and self-concept beliefs in mathematical problem solving: A path analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 193–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Park, Y.-S., & Kim, U. (1998). Locus of control, attributional style, and academic achievement: Comparative analysis of Korean, Korean-Chinese, and Chinese students. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 1, 191–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. (1984). Causal explanations as a risk factor for depression: Theory and evidence. Psychological Review, 91, 347–374.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roesch, S.C., Vaughn, A.A., Aldridge, A.A., & Villodas, F. (2009). Daily diaries and minority adolescents: Random coefficient regression modeling of attributional style, coping, and affect. International Journal of Psychology, 44, 393–400.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Satterfield, J.M., Monahan, J., & Seligman, M.E.P. (1997). Law school performance predicted by explanatory style. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 15, 95–105.3.0.CO;2-Y>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheier, M.F., Carver, C., & Bridges, M. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem: A reevaluation of the life orientation test. Journal of Pesonality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schunk, D.H. (1981). Modeling and attributional effects on children's achievement: A self-efficacy analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 93–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schunk, D.H. (1982). Effects of effort attributional feedback on children's perceived self-efficacy and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 548–556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schunk, D.H. (1983). Ability versus effort attributional feedback: Different effects on self-efficacy and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 848–856.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schunk, D.H., & Miller, S.D. (2002). Self-efficacy and adolescents’ motivation. In Pajares, F. & Urdan, T. (Eds.), Academic motivation of adolescents (pp. 29–52). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.Google Scholar
Schunk, D.H., & Pajares, F. (2004). Self-efficacy in education revisited: Empirical and applied evidence. In McInerney, D.M. & Etten, S.V. (Eds.), Big theories revisited (pp. 115–138). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.Google Scholar
Schwartz, J.A.J., Kaslow, N.J., Seeley, J., & Lewinsohn, P. (2000). Psychological, cognitive, and interpersonal correlates of attributional change in adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 188–198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seligman, M.E.P. (1995). The optimistic child. New York: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Seligman, M.E.P., Peterson, C., Kaslow, N.J., Tenenbaum, R.L., Alloy, L.B., & Abramson, L.Y. (1984). Attributional style and depressive symptoms among children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 235–241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Slavin, R.E. (1988). Synthesis of research on grouping in elementary and secondary schools. Educational Leadership, 46, 67–77.Google Scholar
Sterling, R.C., Yeisley-Hynes, D., Little, S.G., & Carter, J.R. (1992). The effects of initial level of self-esteem, gender, and task outcome on causal attribution and affective arousal. The Journal of Social Psychology, 132, 561–564.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suldo, S.M., Shaunessy, E., & Hardesty, R. (2008). Relationships among stress, coping, and mental health in high-achieving high school students. Psychology in the Schools, 45, 273–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Travis, C.B., Phillippi, R.H., & Henley, T.B. (1991). Gender and causal attributions for mastery, personal, and interpersonal events. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15, 233–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valentine, J.C., DuBois, D.L., & Cooper, H. (2004). The relation between self-beliefs and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review. Educational Psychologist, 39, 111–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiner, B. (2000). Interpersonal and intrapersonal theories of motivation from an attributional perspective. Educational Psychology Review, 12, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, J.E., & Coombs, W.T. (1996, April). An analysis of the reliability and validity of Bandura's Multidimensional Scales of Perceived Self-Efficacy. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, New York.Google Scholar
Yeo, L.S., Ang, R.P., Chong, W.H., & Huan, V.S. (2007). Gender differences in adolescent concerns and emotional well-being: Perceptions of Singapore adolescent students. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 168, 63–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zimmerman, B.J. (1986). Becoming a self-regulated learner: Which are the key subprocesses. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 11, 307–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar