A total of 36 teachers and 162 children in classes for specific learning difficulties (SLD) participated in a five-week classroom attribution training program. One experimental group received training with mildly frustrating material, another in a success-only context, while a third no-treatment group served as a control condition. Training procedures involved teacher modeling, student rehearsal of self-statements and effort attributions, and teacher reinforcement for student self-statements. At pretraining, compared to average achievers, SLD students displayed lower persistence, lower perceptions of ability, and a helpless learning style as rated by parents and teachers. Experimental training resulted in significant increase in task persistence; no changes were noted in achievement attributions. Implications for instruction of learning disabled children are discussed.
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