The mediating role of attribution and self-efficacy variables for treatment effects on achievement outcomes

Abstract

This experiment explored the mediating functions of attributional and self-efficacy variables on achievement outcomes for skill training treatments offered in conjunction with attributional feedback. Children who were identified as learned helpless and deficient in division skills received training on division operations either through modeling strategies or self-instructional practice. Half of the sample in each treatment received attributional feedback on effort, ability, and task difficulty. All treatments were effective in raising post-test achievement but only the results from the two treatments including attributional feedback and the modeling only treatment demonstrated significant post-test superiority over the achievement of a control group. Treatment effects on the mediating variables were less substantial but path analysis demonstrated the viability of a hypothesized model which suggests that the indirect effect of skill training and attributional feedback on achievement is mediated through the attribution and self-efficacy variables. Future research on how children process attributional information needs to consider ways to measure the generalizability of alleviation of learned helplessness and increased self-efficacy on achievement outcomes.