Weiner

 Bernard Weiner (1935- ) MBA University of Chicago (1957) Ph.D. University of Michigan (1963) UCLA Professor of Psychology (1965- )

Weiner (1974) proposed the theory of attribution as it relates to academic success and failure. Proponents of attribution theory begin their analysis of motivation with the assumption that people inevitably seek to understand why they succeed or fail. In doing so, they attribute their accomplishments or losses to a host of antecedents: good or bad luck, difficult or easy tasks, supportive or unfriendly people, their own hard work or lack thereof, or the degree to which they possess certain abilities.

Heider (1958), who is credited for initially developing the attribution theory, focused on the different ways in which individuals understand events and messages and how this affects their behavior. Several other theorist have modified this theory since then and among them is Weiner, who created the framework used today to assess attributes of achievement. He asserts:


 * A three stage process underlies this theory (1) behavior is observed or perceived, (2) behavior is determined to be deliberate, and (3) behavior is attributed to internal or external causes.
 * The most important factors affecting achievement can be attributed to (1) effort, (2) ability, (3) level of task difficulty, or (4) luck.
 * Antecedents to behavior fall into three different, but not mutually exclusive, types of causal dimensions: locus, stability, and controllability.

Werner’s distinctions of the attribution theory apply to academics in that the perceived cause of the event is important regardless of any objective explanation because whatever learners perceive as being the cause of the event will affect their future motivation toward engagement with similar tasks. Learned helplessness, which we know is detrimental to achievement, is directly tied to the theory of attribution. Learned helplessness describes a student who attributes failure to situations that are uncontrollable and stable. This student can be contrasted with one who has mastery beliefs, which is a more optimistic explanatory style, and attributes success and failures to controllable and unstable factors.

So bottom line: when you think attribution, think explanation and motivation. This blog post will enlighten you further and it highlights attribution in action.

__Connections to other theorists__: Weiner cues us into distinctive characteristics relating to human motivation in the context as person-as-rational-thinker metaphor (1980). His own theory of attribution and **Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy** fall under this metaphor.


 * Bloom's Taxonomy** lends itself to Weiner's theory in that if students believe that they can develop the talent or skills necessary then they are motivated to give more of an effort and in effect prove Weiner's theory of motivation. **Gardner and Bloom** both have proven that when a high achievers exert effort it is with the understanding that their success is directly related to their ability to control the results; rather than luck dealing them results.

The structure of learning that **Bruner** proposes supports Weiner's theory of the learner's perception of controllability. Focused on intrinsic motivation, these theories directly link to Weiner's theory that learners are always looking for an explanation as to why they were or weren't successful.

Rogers' student-centered theory to a degree correlates with Weiner's theory of attribution in terms of how students perceive negative attribution and its impact on motivation to learn.

Bernard Weiner (1935- ) MBA University of Chicago (1957) Ph.D. University of Michigan (1963) UCLA Professor of Psychology (1965- )

Weiner (1974) proposed the theory of attribution as it relates to academic success and failure. Proponents of attribution theory begin their analysis of motivation with the assumption that people inevitably seek to understand why they succeed or fail. In doing so, they attribute their accomplishments or losses to a host of antecedents: good or bad luck, difficult or easy tasks, supportive or unfriendly people, their own hard work or lack thereof, or the degree to which they possess certain abilities.

Heider (1958), who is credited for initially developing the attribution theory, focused on the different ways in which individuals understand events and messages and how this affects their behavior. Several other theorist have modified this theory since then and among them is Weiner, who created the framework used today to assess attributes of achievement. He asserts: Werner’s distinctions of the attribution theory apply to academics in that the perceived cause of the event is important regardless of any objective explanation because whatever learners perceive as being the cause of the event will affect their future motivation toward engagement with similar tasks. Learned helplessness, which we know is detrimental to achievement, is directly tied to the theory of attribution. Learned helplessness describes a student who attributes failure to situations that are uncontrollable and stable. This student can be contrasted with one who has mastery beliefs, which is a more optimistic explanatory style, and attributes success and failures to controllable and unstable factors.
 * A three stage process underlies this theory (1) behavior is observed or perceived, (2) behavior is determined to be deliberate, and (3) behavior is attributed to internal or external causes.
 * The most important factors affecting achievement can be attributed to (1) effort, (2) ability, (3) level of task difficulty, or (4) luck.
 * Antecedents to behavior fall into three different, but not mutually exclusive, types of causal dimensions: locus, stability, and controllability.

Weiner cues us into distinctive characteristics relating to human motivation in the context as person-as-rational-thinker metaphor (1980). His own theory of attribution and Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy fall under this metaphor.

So bottom line: when you think attribution, think explanation and motivation. <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; position: absolute; top: -25px; width: 1px;">This blog post will enlighten you further and it highlights attribution in action.