Ruthig et al., 2004: Attributing academic failure as unstable and controllable, or attributing academic performance to effort, increased first year GPA among optimistic, first-year undergraduate students
Reference:
Ruthig, J. C., Perry, R. P., Hall, N. C., & Hladkyj, S. (2004). Optimism and Attributional Retraining: Longitudinal Effects on Academic Achievement, Test Anxiety, and Voluntary Course Withdrawal in College Students 1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34(4), 709-730.
Download PDFSummary:
First-year undergraduate introductory psychology students either viewed a video in which two students discussed their academic experiences and how putting forth more effort improved grades; viewed the video followed by a short group discussion that emphasized the importance of attributing college performance to effort; or read a handout that emphasized the importance of adopting adaptive attributions for academic failures. As compared to a randomized control group, all three treatments raised first-year grade-point-average and reduced course dropping for over-optimistic students. There were no effects for low-optimistic students.
Psychological Process:
What Desired Meaning is At Stake?
What is the Person Trying to Understand?
Selves (My Own and Others')How?
Psychological Question Addressed
Does struggling mean I can’t do it?Does struggling mean I can’t do it?Psychological Question Addressed
Does struggling mean I can’t do it?Psychological Process 2:
Psychological Process 3:
Social Area:
Education
Intervention Technique:
Direct labeling, of an aspect of self; Prompting with information