Perspectives such as behaviorism and social cognitive theoryshow us how the consequence (reinforcement or punishment) of aparticular behavior affects the extent to which the behavior islikely to appear again. Attribution theory has cast a new light onthis notion, maintaining that the consequences of behavior willaffect each person’s learning and future behavior differentlydepending on how the individual interprets those consequences.Within the context of attribution theory:
a. Explain what motivation theorists mean when they talk aboutattributions.
b. Explain how learners’ responses to failure are likely to bedifferent when they attribute that failure to a controllable causeor to an uncontrollable one. Give a concrete example to illustrateyour explanation.
c. Describe three specific strategies you might use to fostermore productive attributions in others. In each case, useattribution theory to explain why you think the strategy should beeffective.
