Causal Attributions for Achievement Outcomes: Sex-Role Identity,Sex and Outcome Comparisons

Abstract

White male and female subjects completed a digit guessing task, an instrument assessing perceived outcome and causal attributions, and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), a measure of sex-identity. Men generally used more ability attributions than women, though women stressed ability for failure more than men did. Those who saw themselves as successful on the task reported using more ability, effort, and luck ascriptions than those with lower subjective outcome. While sex identity was related to the kinds of attributions made for ability and effort, it was only in relation to subjective outcome for effort that it added information over and above that of sex of subject.