Education for Mental Health Toolkit - Self attribution and self awareness

If a student underperforms and attributes this to stable factors beyond their control, such as their innate ability in a subject, they have no reason to be motivated to do anything to improve future performance (5, 6). For example, if they think, “I’m just bad at statistics and there is nothing I can do about that,” why would they expend extra effort or try different strategies?

Equally, if students attribute success to unstable factors outside their control such as luck or an overgenerous marker of their work, then they are left without clarity about why their work was good and how they can use their strengths in future. This can lead to doubt about their true ability and anxiety about future performance (7).

It is important to recognise that in attributing causes, our thoughts are often not logically connected to reality. A student can dismiss good performance on the basis that the assessment was just easy – even though no one else came close to their result (8). Or can believe that they underperformed due to lack of innate ability, even though more effort or a better strategy may have led to a significantly better outcome.

Realistic awareness and self-attribution, which gives a sense of control over the future, is necessary for successful self-regulation (9). Students need to be able to assess their own strengths and weaknesses and recognise how they can improve in the future, if they are to improve their learning and performance. Otherwise, they may take steps that undermine learning and wellbeing, such as avoiding work (which can elevate anxiety) or persisting with strategies that are ineffective (working longer hours using ineffective study approaches, leading to exhaustion, disappointment and poor self-concept) (10).

Research has shown students’ first responses to academic performance are emotional. Emotions tend to precede cognitive thought and can shape the beliefs that follow (11-13). If students respond with disappointment, anger and upset they are then more likely to develop a narrative that establishes a pattern of unhelpful future behaviour. This creates a cyclical response of negative emotions, leading to negative attributions leading to further negative emotions.

Developing students’ ability to assess their own learning and performance in ways that are helpful, therefore becomes an important part of the curriculum. Feedback and classroom demonstration should focus on identifying aspects of performance that are within students’ control (14). This may include:

• disciplinary and process knowledge. Students may simply underperform because they do not know the most successful strategies and approaches. For example, they may believe that reading notes is an effective revision strategy, when research has clearly shown it to be ineffective.
• utilising available resources; both internal and external. For example, students may not recognise the positive impact of taking breaks, studying in short chunks and maintaining sleep for academic performance. Or they may benefit from using online tools to improve their referencing.
• appropriate effort. Students may benefit from beginning work on an assignment at an earlier point, to allow for incubation and the development of their ideas. Or they may benefit from not working so many hours, late at night, that they end up exhausted and not able to think clearly.

Self-assessment is a skill that can be improved through teaching, modelling feedback and practice activities such as feedforward or peer assessment exercises (15, 16). Encouraging students to take a strengths-based and future-focussed approach to their learning can help them to focus on factors that are within their locus of control. This, in turn, can raise motivation, self-belief, hope and wellbeing.

Key lessons

• How students think about their learning and performance can have a more influential impact on future behaviour and performance than their actual level of performance.
• If students attribute their performance to aspects they cannot control, they will not be motivated to improve and this can impact negatively on their learning and wellbeing.
• If students are guided to develop their ability to recognise those aspects they can control, they can more effectively self-regulate future behaviour and have greater hope and belief in their ability to succeed.
• A greater sense of control over their learning and achievement can improve self-efficacy, sense of competence and motivation, thereby improving wellbeing

Top tips

• Use feedback and feedforward processes to focus students’ attention to those aspects over which they have control – provide specific steps they can take to learn more effectively.
• Use students’ work in the classroom to model effective practice – reflect holistically on the process through which students produce successful work and emphasise this over innate ability.
• Ensure the curriculum includes specific guidance on how to complete tasks effectively.

References

1. Dweck CS, Leggett EL. . A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 1988; 95(2), 256–273. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.95.2.256

2. Drago A, Rheinheimer DC, Detweiler TN. Effects of locus of control, academic self-efficacy, and tutoring on academic performance. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. 2018 Feb;19(4):433-51.

3. Malhotra R, Suri S. Locus of control and well-being among college students. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology. 2017 Jun 1;8(2):231-6.

4. Ye Y, Lin L. Examining relations between locus of control, loneliness, subjective well-being, and preference for online social interaction. Psychological reports. 2015 Feb;116(1):164-75.

5. Edwards JE, Waters LK. Moderating effect of achievement motivation and locus of control on the relationship between academic ability and academic performance. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 1981 Jul;41(2):585-7.

6. Fazey DM, Fazey JA. The potential for autonomy in learning: Perceptions of competence, motivation and locus of control in first-year undergraduate students. Studies in higher education. 2001 Oct 1;26(3):345-61.

7. Akinleke WO, Adeaga TM. Contributions of test anxiety, study habits and locus of control to academic performance. British Journal of Psychology Research. 2014;2(1):14-24.

8. Ravenscroft SP, Waymire TR, West TD. Accounting students' metacognition: The association of performance, calibration error, and mindset. Issues in Accounting Education. 2012 Aug;27(3):707-32.

9. Schunk, D. H. (2008). Attributions as motivators of self-regulated learning. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Motivation and self-regulated learning: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 245–266). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

10. Cohen M, Ben-Zur H, Rosenfeld MJ. Sense of coherence, coping strategies, and test anxiety as predictors of test performance among college students. International Journal of Stress Management. 2008 Aug;15(3):289.

11. Pekrun R, Elliot AJ, Maier MA. Achievement goals and achievement emotions: Testing a model of their joint relations with academic performance. Journal of educational Psychology. 2009 Feb;101(1):115.

12. Izard CE. The many meanings/aspects of emotion: Definitions, functions, activation, and regulation. Emotion Review. 2010 Oct;2(4):363-70.

13. LeDoux J. The emotional brain: The mysterious underpinnings of emotional life. Simon and Schuster; 1998 Mar 27.

14. Hattie J, Timperley H. The power of feedback. Review of educational research. 2007 Mar;77(1):81-112.

15. Taras M. Student self-assessment: Processes and consequences. Teaching in higher education. 2010 Apr 1;15(2):199-209

16. Bourke R. Self-assessment to incite learning in higher education: developing ontological awareness. Assessment & evaluation in higher education. 2018 Jul 4;43(5):827-39.