Blaming Controllable Factors

Sometimes when you examine your attributions you come to believe that controllable factors explain why you do or do not succeed at different academic tasks.

• Crediting or blaming controllable factors (acquired ability, effort)

Sometimes we attribute what happens to us to controllable factors. These factors, such as acquired ability (abilities we develop, like good reading skills) or effort (the amount and type of effort we put into our studies), are factors that we can generally control. Attributing what happens to us to these factors helps us to feel in control.

Believing that the outcomes in your life depend on your developed abilities and effort can have positive consequences on your level of motivation. Even when you fail, you are in control and can change how you approach a similar task in the future. For example, if you fail the first exam in your history class, you know that you can change how you studied for the exam and do better on the next one.

Remember, the important point is that YOU ARE IN CONTROL. You can improve performance in much of your life by the simple choice of attributing results to controllable factors.