ATTRIBUTION THEORY (WEINER)

Attribution theory is concerned with how individuals interpret events and how this

relates to their thinking and behavior. Weiner focused his attribution theory on

achievement (Weiner, 1974). He identified ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck as the

most important factors affecting attributions for achievement. Attributions are classified

along three causal dimensions: locus of control, stability, and controllability. The locus of

control dimension has two poles: internal versus external locus of control. The stability

dimension captures whether causes change over time or not. For instance, ability can be

classified as a stable, internal cause, and effort classified as unstable and internal.

Controllability contrasts causes one can control, such as skill/efficacy, from causes one

cannot control, such as aptitude, mood, others’ actions, and luck.

In my class, there are students who never exert effort to memorize all the details

in their notes because they have their own way of paraphrasing those ideas in their mind.

Just like when I usually have brainstorming in a group. The reporter might give out his/her

own understanding and interpretation towards the certain topic we are discussing about.

He/she can be able to elaborate more in his/her own words because of the smooth flow

of the ideas formed in their mind. I observed that most of the students who has exemplary

performances in oral language are those who were identified as wide readers. It is really

true that the secret of becoming an intelligent person is to read a lot of books because

written materials in the texts are the source of knowledge we get from and which will be

added in our word bank. Students have their own unique way of expressing their ideas

and thoughts that is why I matter on how they say it rather than adhering to the pattern

we learned from the book. However, the basic patterns are really important in formulating

their own ideas either orally or in written since those patterns are the foundations of the

construction of sentences and phrases in the language. The way they say it matters most

and which is also the determinants of how far they have improved.