Abstract
Attribution, i.e. the systematic ascription of causes and effects in situations of failure or success, has so far received little attention in HCI research. In this paper we investigate specific computer-related attribution styles by means of a diary study and an online survey. By using cluster analysis we developed a typology of nine distinct attribution styles that come into effect in success or failure situations when using computers. Also, we were able to distinguish attribution styles that can be assumed to be favorable or unfavorable regarding computer mastery. Methodical issues in computer-related attribution research and implications for research and practice are discussed.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abramson, L.Y., Seligman, M.E.P., Teasdale, J.: Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 87, 49–74 (1978)
Weiner, B.: Achievement motivation and attribution theory. General Learning Press, Morristown (1974)
Försterling, F.: Attribution. An introduction to theories, research and applications. Psychology Press, Hove (2001)
Kneckt, M.C., Syrjala, A.M., Knuuttila, M.L.: Locus of control beliefs predicting oral and diabetes health behavior and health status. Acta Odontol Scand 57, 127–131 (1999)
Marsh, H.W., Byrne, B.M., Shavelson, R.: A multifaceted academic self-concept: Its hierarchical structure and its relation to academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology 80, 366–380 (1988)
Campbell, N.J.: High School Student’s Computer Attitudes and Attributions: Gender and Ethnic Group Differences. Journal of Adolescence Research 5, 485–499 (1990)
Nelson, L.J., Cooper, J.: Gender Differences in Children’s Reactions to Success and Failure with Computers. Computers in Human Behavior 13, 247–267 (1997)
Sølvberg, A.M.: Gender differences in computer-related control beliefs and home computer use. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 46(4), 409–426 (2002)
Kay, R.H.: The relation between computer literacy and locus of control. Journal of Research on Computing in Education 22(4), 464–474 (1990)
Peterson, C., Semmel, A., von Baeyer, C., Abramson, L., Metalsky, S.M.: The Attributional Style Questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research 6, 287–300 (1982)
Dickhäuser, O., Stiensmeier-Pelster, J.: Entwicklungeines Fragebogens zur Erfassung computerspezifischer Attributionen. Diagnostica 46, 103–111 (2000)
Ohly, S., Sonnentag, S., Niessen, C., Zapf, D.: Diary studies in organizational research: An introduction and some practical recommendations. Journal of Personnel Psychology 9(2), 79–93 (2010)
Czerwinski, M., Horvitz, E., Wilhite, S.: A diary study of task switching and interruptions. In: Proc. CHI 2004, pp. 175–182. ACM, New York (2004)
Sohn, T., Li, K.A., Griswold, G.W., Hollan, J.D.: A diary study of mobile information needs. In: Proc. CHI 2008, pp. 433–442. ACM, New York (2008)
Alaszewski, A.: Using diaries for social research. Sage Publications Ltd., London (2006)
Reis, H.T., Gable, S.L.: Event-sampling and other methods for studying everyday experience. In: Reis, H.T., Judd, C.M. (eds.) Handbook of Research Methods in Social and Personality Psychology, pp. 190–222. Cambridge University Press, New York (2000)
Hanrahan, S.J., Grove, J.R., Hattie, J.A.: Development of a questionnaire measure of sport-related attributional style. International Journal of Sport Psychology 20, 114–134 (1989)
Cohen, J.: A coefficientofagreementfor nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement 20, 37–46 (1960)
Abonyi, J., Feil, B.: Cluster Analysis for Data Mining and System Identification. Birkhäuser, Boston (2007)
Gillet, N., Vallerand, R.J., Rosnet, E.: Motivational clustersandperformance in a real-lifesetting. In: Motivation and Emotion, vol. 33, pp. 49–62. Springer (2009)
Cohen, J.: Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences, 2nd edn. Erlbaum, Hillsdale (1988)
McCrae, R.R., Costa, P.T.: Self-concept and the stability of personality: Cross-sectional comparisons of self-reports and ratings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 43(6), 1282–1292 (1982)
Wiseman, R.: The Luck Factor. Hyperion Books, New York (2003)
Dweck, C.: Mindset: The New PsychologyofSuccess. Random House, New York (2006)
Carroll, J.M.: The Nurnberg funnel: designing minimalist instruction for practical computer skill. MIT Press, Cambridge (1990)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Janneck, M., Guczka, S.R. (2013). The Resigned, the Confident, and the Humble: A Typology of Computer-Related Attribution Styles. In: Holzinger, A., Ziefle, M., Hitz, M., Debevc, M. (eds) Human Factors in Computing and Informatics. SouthCHI 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7946. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39062-3_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39062-3_24
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-39061-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-39062-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)