Attribution Theory and the Weiner Model
An attribution is the perceived reason given for an outcome such as winning or losing, and correct attributions are important for maintaining motivation, effort and confidence.
- Weiner (1974) classified attributions along two dimensions: locus of causality – whether the reason is internal (within the performer's control, e.g. effort or skill) or external (outside the performer's control, e.g. luck or a referee's decision); and locus of stability – whether the reason is stable (unlikely to change in the short term, e.g. ability, task difficulty) or unstable (can change quickly, e.g. effort, luck)
- These two dimensions combine to give four categories of attribution: internal-stable (e.g. ability), internal-unstable (e.g. effort), external-stable (e.g. task difficulty), and external-unstable (e.g. luck)
Self-Serving Bias and Learned Helplessness
- Self-serving bias is the tendency to attribute winning to internal, stable reasons (e.g. one's own ability) while attributing losing to external and/or unstable reasons (e.g. bad luck or a poor refereeing decision) – this helps to protect and promote self-esteem
- Learned helplessness occurs when a performer attributes losing to internal, stable reasons (e.g. a lack of ability), leading them to believe failure is inevitable and success unlikely – this can cause a performer to give up even when success is still possible
- Learned helplessness can be general (a performer feels they are poor at sport overall) or specific (limited to one sport, skill or event), and can be caused not only by negative attributions but also by negative feedback, criticism, or repeated lack of success
Attribution Retraining and Mastery Orientation
- Attribution retraining is a set of coaching strategies used to overcome learned helplessness by changing the reasons a performer gives for failure – shifting them away from blaming stable, internal factors (e.g. ability) towards external and/or unstable reasons (e.g. luck, task difficulty, effort)
- Coaches can support attribution retraining by providing reinforcement, allowing early success through achievable goals, stressing personal improvement even after a loss, and using cognitive or somatic stress management techniques (e.g. imagery, centering) to build confidence
- The opposite of learned helplessness is mastery orientation – a state in which the performer has high confidence, believes success is repeatable, and views failure as temporary and changeable. Performers with mastery orientation show approach behaviour and continue trying even after initial setbacks