Hostname: page-component-68c7f8b79f-tw422 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-01-02T21:54:46.682Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An Intervention to Retrain Attributions Using CBT: A Pilot Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2017

Amira Bosnjak ,
Christopher Boyle Open the ORCID record for Christopher Boyle [Opens in a new window]  and
Alicia R. Chodkiewicz
Amira Bosnjak
Affiliation:
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Christopher Boyle*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, UK
Alicia R. Chodkiewicz
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Christopher Boyle, PhD, Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, UK. Email: C.boyle2@exeter.ac.uk
Get access

Abstract

The role of affective and cognitive factors in learning have long been recognised as imperative determinants of the learning process. Maladaptive styles with which we perceive and explain accomplishments and failures in achievement outcomes have an important motivational impact upon approach and avoidance behaviours towards academic tasks. Interventions to change these maladaptive styles are well established, although they stand to gain via addition of cognitive behavioural therapy components. A pilot study attribution retraining intervention was implemented with eight secondary school students, and their results on academic performance, self-concept, and attributional styles were compared to a control group. With significant gains in some specific academic domains, the attributional retraining program is being substantiated for effective use within secondary schools. Implications suggest that this could be an effective tool to retrain students’ attributions, with some gains, as the reattribution technique is revisited and reinvigorated.

Keywords

educational psychologyschool psychologyinclusive educationspecial educationpositive psychologyattribution retrainingattributionscognitive behaviour therapyschool improvement

Information

Type
Articles
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , July 2017 , pp. 19 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Berkeley, S., Mastropieri, M.A., & Scruggs, T.E. (2011). Reading comprehension strategy instruction and attribution retraining for secondary students with learning and other mild disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 44, 18–32. doi:10.1177/0022219410371677 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyle, C.M. (2007). An analysis of the efficacy of a motor skills training programme for young people with moderate learning difficulties. International Journal of Special Education, 22, 11–24.Google Scholar
Burden, R. (1998). Assessing children's perceptions of themselves as learners and problem solvers: The construction of the myself-as-learner scale (MALS). School Psychology International, 19, 291–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chodkiewicz, A.R., & Boyle, C. (2014). Exploring the contribution of attribution retraining to student perceptions and the learning process. Educational Psychology in Practice, 30, 78–87. doi:10.1080/02667363.2014.880048 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chodkiewicz, A.R., & Boyle, C. (2015). Believing you can is the first step to achieving: A CBT and attribution retraining programme to improve self-belief in students aged 8–12. London: Jessica Kingsley.Google Scholar
Chodkiewicz, A.R., & Boyle, C. (2016a). Promoting positive learning in students aged 10–12 years using attribution retraining and cognitive behavioural therapy: A pilot study. School Psychology International, 37, 519–535. doi:10.1177/0143034316667114 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chodkiewicz, A.R., & Boyle, C. (2016b). Positive psychology school-based interventions: A reflection on current success and future directions. Review of Education. Advance online publication. doi:10.1002/rev3.3080 Google Scholar
Davidson, A.L., Boyle, C., & Lauchlan, F. (2008). Scared to lose control? Are we failing to treat the underlying cause in females with a phobia of vomiting? Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 30–39. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20431.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duckworth, A.L., & Seligman, M.E. (2005). Self-discipline outdoes IQ in predicting academic performance of adolescents. Psychological Science, 16, 939–944. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01641.x CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dweck, C.S. (1975). The role of expectations and attributions in the alleviation of learned helplessness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 674–685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feravich, A. (2010). Does a sense of control moderate self-regulation strategies and performance? When feedback lingers. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 71, 2743.Google Scholar
Flanagan, D.P. (2000). Wechsler-based CHC cross-battery assessment and reading achievement: Strengthening the validity of interpretations drawn from Wechsler test scores. School Psychology Quarterly, 15, 295–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frankel, F., & Myatt, R. (2003). Children's friendship training. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Fowler, J., & Peterson, P. (1981). Increasing reading persistence and altering attributional style of learned helpless children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 251–260. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.73.2.251 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gadson, N. (2009). Are African American middle school students’ behavior and attributional style predictors of home-school dissonance? Dissertation Abstract International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 69, 2602.Google Scholar
Haynes Stewart, T.L., Clifton, R.A., Daniels, L.M., Perry, R.P., Chipperfields, J.G., & Ruthig, J.C. (2011). Attributional retraining: Reducing the likelihood of failure. Social Psychology Education, 14, 75–92. doi:10.1007/s11218-010-9130-2 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hilt, L.M. (2004). Attribution retraining for therapeutic change: Theory, practice and future directions. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 23, 289–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horner, S.L., & Gaither, S.M. (2004). Attribution retraining instruction with a second-grade class. Early Childhood Education Journal, 31, 165–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koles, J.E., & Boyle, C. (2013). Future direction of attribution retraining for students with learning difficulties: A review. In Boyle, C. (Ed.), Student learning: Improving practice (pp. 13–29). New York, NY: Nova Publishers.Google Scholar
Margolis, H., & McCabe, P.P. (2006). Improving self-efficacy and motivation: What to do, what to say. Intervention in School and Clinic, 41, 218–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miranda, A., Villaescusa, M.I., & Vidal-Abarca, E. (1997). Is attribution retraining necessary? Use of self-regulation procedures for enhancing the reading comprehension strategies of children with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30, 503–512.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perry, R.P., Stupinsky, R.H., Hall, N.C., Chipperfield, J.G., & Weiner, B. (2010). Bad starts and better finishes: Attributional retraining and initial performance in competitive achievement settings. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 29, 668–700.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pugh, J. (2010). Cognitive behaviour therapy in schools: The role of educational psychology in the dissemination of empirically supported interventions. Educational Psychology in Practice, 26, 391–399. doi:10.1080/02667363.2010.5213112 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, J.S. (2000). Is attribution training a worthwhile classroom intervention for K-12 students with learning difficulties. Educational Psychology Review, 12, 111–134. doi:1040-726x/00/0300-0111 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sakaki, M., & Murayama, K. (2013). Automatic ability attribution after failure: A dual process view of achievement attribution. Plos One, 8, 1–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seligman, M., Ernst, R., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35, 293–311. doi:10.1080/03054980902934563 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stallard, P. (2002). Think good-feel good: A CBT workbook for children and young people. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Thompson, M., Kaslow, N.J., Weiss, B., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1998). Children's attributional style questionnaire-revised: Psychometric examination. Psychological Assessment, 10, 166–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toland, J., & Boyle, C. (2008). Applying cognitive behavioural methods to retrain children's attributions for success and failure in learning. School Psychology International, 29, 286–302. doi:10.1177/0143034308093674 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VandenBos, G.R. (2007). APA dictionary of psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92, 548–573.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weiner, B. (1988). Attribution theory and attributional therapy: Some theoretical observations and suggestions. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27, 93–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westwood, P. (2008). What teachers need to know about learning difficulties. Melbourne, Australia: Acer Press.Google Scholar
Yasutake, D., Bryan, T., & Dohrn, E. (1996). The effects of combining peer tutoring and attribution training on student's perceived self-competence. Remedial and Special Education, 17, 83–91. doi:10.1177/074193259601700204 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ziegler, A., & Heller, K.A. (2000). Effects of an attribution retraining with female students gifted in physics. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 23, 217–240. doi:10.4219/jeg-2000-572 CrossRefGoogle Scholar