Attributional Retraining: Facilitating Academic Performance for Failure-Prone Students in Competitive Achievement Settings

• In Event: Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Motivation in Education SIG Poster Session 1

Abstract

Theory suggests that fit-focused individuals may be better able to adapt to adverse learning conditions than individuals who relinquish control (Morling & Evered, 2006). We tested this premise in a competitive achievement setting by conducting an 8-month, quasi-experimental, randomized treatment study. We examined whether failure-prone students who accept their circumstances but fail to adjust themselves to it (relinquished control) benefit from an Attributional Retraining (AR) versus a Stress Reduction (SR) treatment intervention. Simple slope analyses suggest that AR (vs. SR) facilitated better long-term learning-related emotions and academic performance for these failure-prone students. These findings underscore AR’s strategic utility as a treatment in higher education for failure-prone students dealing with adverse learning conditions.

Authors

• Patti C. Parker, University of Manitoba

• Raymond P. Perry, University of Manitoba

• Jeremy M. Hamm, University of Manitoba

• Judy Chipperfield, University of Manitoba

• Rodney Clifton, University of Manitoba