An Attributional Analysis of Teachers' Affective Reactions to Student Success and Failure

This study builds on previously established attribution-affect linkages in an effort to better understand teachers' evaluative reactions to student success and failure. In the scenarios presented to teachers, students who differed in ability and in the amount of effort they expended were described as doing well or poorly on important tests. An additional manipulation related to the consistency of effort expended by students. It was thought that teachers would assume more responsibility for outcomes tied to dramatic, recent shifts in student motivation. Teacher ratings of 10 key affects (e. g., pride, guilt, anger) were used as dependent variables. As predicted, the affective reactions of teachers indicate that they are more willing to accept personal responsibility for certain kinds of student outcomes than others. Results bear out the notion that teacher affect provides valuable insight into teacher attributional thinking.