Self-Efficacy Cognitions and Causal Attributions for Children’s Motor Performance: An Exploratory Investigation

Edward McAuley, Terry E. Duncan, Mary McElroy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Although Bandura (1986) has suggested that cognitive motivators such as self-efficacy cognitions and causal attributions might be causally related, there has been little effort to examine such a relationship within the motor behavior domain. The present investigation attempted to determine whether manipulated self-efficacy and children's causal attributions for performance in a competitive bicycle ergometer were related. Self-efficacy cognitions were found to be significantly related to perceptions of success on the task and to stable and controllable attributions. The results suggest that efficacy cognitions, formed as a function of consistent patterns of behavior, play an important role in the formation of causal attributions independent of the subject's perception of the achievement outcome.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)65-73
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Genetic Psychology
Volume150
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1989
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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