Performance attributions for success and failure among Type-A and Type-B individuals

Abstract

The main objective of the present work is to examine the causal attributions of Type A and Type B subjects for sucess and failure on a statistics problem task with different difficulty levels. Results revealed that Type A and Type B subjects did not differ in their attributions for failure but Type A made more internal attributions for sucess than Type B. This attributional difference was due to Type A”s tendency to attribute sucess to ability and Type B”s to easiness. Likewise Type A and Type B subjects made more use of effort and ability attribution, respectively, for failure than for success. Type A's defensive attributions and their need for control are discussed.