An Attribution Training Program and Achievement in Sport

This study aimed to investigate the influence of an attribution training program for learners who attribute their sport performance to dysfunctional attributions. Participants were 35 college beginner tennis players who were oriented to attribute their performance in a tennis skill task to controllable, unstable factors; uncontrollable, stable factors; or no specific factors. Participants received fictitious failure feedback over 10 trial blocks administered during four sessions. Dependent variables included attributions, expectations, emotions, persistence, and performance. MANOVA analyses revealed that it is possible to modify attributions in regard to a tennis performance task. More importantly, the new attributions were consistent up to 3 weeks postintervention and were generalized to a different tennis task. In addition, participants who changed their attributions to more functional ones had higher expectations for future success and experienced positive emotions.

Changing Attributions with an Attribution Training Technique Related to Basketball Dribbling

There is a shortage of research in which the effect of attribution training interventions on sport performance has been investigated. Therefore, the primary goal of this study was to determine the influence of an attribution training program on individuals who attribute their sport performance to dysfunctional attributions. Sixty college recreational basketball players were oriented to perceive their performance in a basketball skill task as due to (a) controllable, unstable factors, (b) uncontrollable, stable factors, or (c) no specific factors. Dependent variables included attributions and performance time. Using MANOVA and repeated measures factorial ANOVAs, results revealed that it is possible to modify attributions and performance in regard to a basketball performance task. The data are supportive of the potential influence of attribution training in a sport setting and the use of a controllable, unstable dimensional orientation as a means to improve performance.