Why Do My Students Act Helpless? Attributions, Expectations, and Motivation

Self-Efficacy = “I believe I can succeed at this task.” Differs from self-esteem (your sense of self-worth). Example: You may not believe you can be a good singer (low self-efficacy for singing) but still have high self-esteem because you don’t really care about being a good singer.

Why is it important? Self-efficacy influences everything from goals to actual learning. Those who believe they can succeed set higher goals, seek out learning opportunities, enjoy learning activities more, and generally achieve deeper-levels of learning. Those with low self-efficacy often set lower goals, avoid learning tasks (see the info on self-handicapping under goal theory), enjoy learning activities less, and achieve at lower levels.

Attribution Theory Our self-efficacy is largely a result of the kind of attributions we make for our past successes and failures. Attributions refer to the reasons we give for our success or failure.

3 Causal Dimensions Each attribution we make can be categorized according to the following 3 dimensions. Locus Internal - you are the cause. External - something else is the cause. Controllability Controllable - the success/failure is due to something you can control. Uncontrollable - It’s due to something beyond your control. Stability Stable - The cause of the success/failure is not likely to change anytime soon. Unstable - The cause could easily change next time.

Common Attributions Related to Each Dimension Controllable Uncontrollable Habit, Skill, Ability, Maturity Knowledge Health, Mood, Internal Effort, Strategy, emotions (sometimes) Attitude, Interest (don’t confuse with a mastery goal orientation) (bad attributions to make after failure ) after success Learned Helplessness (good attributions to make) Mastery Beliefs Luck *T ask difficulty *T ask difficulty External Task conditions such as amount of time & support and conditions Normal text = stable Italics = Unstable *Tasks and conditions can be stable or unstable. Also, sometimes you have control over them and sometimes you don’t.

Why are internal, uncontrollable, stable attributions so harmful? What is the result likely to be on future performance? See the motivational profile of Helpless Hannah in Stipek chapter.

How would you categorize Calvin’s Attributions How would you categorize Calvin’s Attributions? Are they productive or harmful?

How Do Students Develop Learned Helplessness (LH)? One cause is repeated failure. See the study on LH in dogs in the Attribution Activity. When we humans experience repeated failure, we often start to attribute our failure to our ability (internal, uncontrollable, stable). Thus, we end up like the poor dogs believing that there is nothing we can do about it. So we just give up and don’t try.

How Do Students Develop Learned Helplessness (LH)? Another cause is the messages sent by others. Negative stereotypes Example: Girls are more likely to attribute poor math performance to their ability because of the stereotype that boys are better at math (a totally false stereotype by the way). Low expectation comments (note: these protect self-esteem at the expense of self-efficacy) “Maybe this just isn’t your thing.” “Well, the important thing is you tried.” “Maybe this writing is hard for you because you have more of a math mind.” Actions that convey low expectations (see next slide)

Ways Teachers Unintentionally Convey Low Expectations to Low Achievers They call on them less frequently. They let them get away with simple or partially correct answers instead of pushing them. They give them easier tasks and fewer challenges.

How Do Students Develop Learned Helplessness (LH)? LH also is related to the kind of mindsets students adopt. Fixed or Entity Mindset = ability and intelligence are largely innate. We are born smart, talented, creative, or athletic. Growth or Incremental Mindset = ability and intelligence are primarily a result of practice and learning over time. Growth mindsets are far more productive. And it also happens to be a more scientifically accurate belief.

Giving Up Resiliency Mindsets Dweck Model Incremental/Growth Entity/Fixed Ability Attributions Performance Goals Effort Sign of Low Ability Poor Learning Strategies Incremental/Growth Controllable Attributions Mastery Goals Effort Sign of Learning Productive Learning Strategies Dweck Model Giving Up Resiliency

How can you overcome LH and foster high self-efficacy? Provide Mastery Experiences Provide opportunities for success on challenging but doable tasks. Provide the support needed for success. Discredit Harmful Stereotypes Do Attribution Retraining Teach students to attribute their success to internal causes (e.g., ability, effort, strategy) Teach students to attribute their failure to internal, unstable, controllable causes (e.g., effort, strategy) and external factors when necessary (really hard task). Convey high (but realistic) expectations