Self-esteem and causal attributions.

Abstract

The relationship between self-esteem and causal attributions of success and failure in achievement-related behavior was examined among undergraduate students. An integration of a self-consistency model of causal attribution and self-enhancement theory was attempted. Self-esteem and performance outcome conditions of success and failure served as independent variables. Success and failure conditions were created via feedback regarding the participants' performance on an anagram task. The participants' attributions of six causal elements (ability, effort, immediate effort, task difficulty, luck, and mood) were categorized and combined with three causal dimensions (internal-external locus, stability, and controllability), which served as dependent variables. Participants' expectations regarding performance also served as a dependent variable. The relationship between self-esteem, expectancies of success and failure, performance, and stable causality were reported. In terms of causal dimensions, internal, stable, and controllable dimensions were explained by self-enhancement.