Attribution Theory: Dimensions of Causality, Stability and Controllability According to Learners

Abstract

The reasons learners construe for their perceived successes and failures in foreign language learning (FLL) have received considerable attention in recent years. These perceptions, which are called attributions, have mostly been classified according to their dimensions of locus of causality, stability and controllability. A recent study, however, has revealed that learners may classify attributions for their perceived successes and failures differently from researchers in previous studies if they are given the opportunity to sort these attributions into their dimensions, and that this classification may be linked to learners’ cultural traits. This chapter will first provide a brief historical background to attribution theory and will present the most relevant research in the field. It will then consider factors that may influence the construction of language learners’ attributions. Finally, it will discuss the results of research that related learners’ attributions for perceived success and failure to culture, and show the different ways in which learners see attributions according to the dimensions of causality, stability and controllability.