Explanatory style and resilience after sports failure

Some athletes habitually explain bad events with causes that are stable in time and global in effect, and explain good events with causes that are unstable and specific. This pessimistic explanatory style constitutes a dispositional risk factor likely to lead to lower expectations of success, to increased anxiety, and to poor achievement. Sixty-two participants (mean age 14 years) performed a basketball dribbling trial and were given false feedback indicating that they had failed. Consistent with prediction, in a second trial, the optimistic participants ( N=22) were less anxious (assessed by heart rate acceleration), more confident, and performed better than pessimistic participants ( N=20). A third group with a neutral explanatory style ( N=20) obtained scores which were between the two other groups.