For a long time I have had the gnawing desire to convey the broad motivational sig­ nificance of the attributional conception that I have espoused and to present fully the argument that this framework has earned a rightful place alongside other leading theories of motivation. Furthermore, recent investigations have yielded insights into the attributional determinants of affect, thus providing the impetus to embark upon a detailed discussion of emotion and to elucidate the relation between emotion and motivation from an attributional perspective. The presentation of a unified theory of motivation and emotion is the goal of this book. My more specific aims in the chapters to follow are to: 1) Outline the basic princi­ ples that I believe characterize an adequate theory of motivation; 2) Convey what I perceive to be the conceptual contributions of the perspective advocated by my col­ leagues and me; 3) Summarize the empirical relations, reach some definitive con­ clusions, and point out the more equivocal empirical associations based on hypotheses derived from our particular attribution theory; and 4) Clarify questions that have been raised about this conception and provide new material for still further scrutiny. In so doing, the building blocks (if any) laid down by the attributional con­ ception will be readily identified and unknown juries of present and future peers can then better determine the value of this scientific product.

Inhalt

1. Principles for a Theory of Motivation.- Principles for Theory Construction.- Summary.- Theoretical Overview and Plan of the Book.- I. The Components of the Theory.- 2. A Description of Perceived Causality.- A Working Definition.- Causal Search in Everyday Life.- Coding of Written Material.- Coding of Verbalizations.- Indirect Attributional Indexes.- Summary and Conclusions.- The Content of Causal Thinking.- Conclusions About Perceived Causality.- 3. The Structure of Perceived Causality.- The Logical Analysis of Causal Structure.- The Empirical Approach.- Some Challenges.- Research Topics.- Conclusion.- 4. Perceived Causality and Goal Expectations.- Expectancy of Goal Attainment.- Theories of Expectancy Change.- An Attributional Approach to Expectancy Change.- Implications of the Stability-Expectancy Relation.- Reinforcement Schedules and Experimental Extinction.- Theoretical and Empirical Issues.- A General Law.- Summary.- 5. Perceived Causality and Emotional Reactions.- Approach to Emotions.- The Cognition-Emotion Process.- Outcome-Dependent Affects.- Attribution-Linked Affects.- Causal Locus and Self-Esteem (Pride).- Causal Controllability and Social Emotions.- Causal Stability and Time-related Emotions.- Summary and Conclusion.- II. The Structure of the Theory.- 6. An Attributional Theory of Achievement Motivation and Emotion.- The Mind-Body Problem.- The Complete Theory.- Theoretical Comparisons.- Experimental Tests of the Theory Within Achievement Contexts.- Attributional Therapy.- General Conclusion.- 7. Beyond Achievement Motivation: The Generality of Attribution Theory.- Helping Behavior.- Exploring Other Domains for Attributional Paths.- Extension Into Clinical Psychology.- Summary and Conclusion.- 8. Elaborating the Theory: Transactional Associations and Added Relations.- The Influence of Affective States on Cognitive Processes.- The Influence of Expectancy on Attributions.- The Influence Communicated Affects on Causal Ascriptions.- The Influence of Attributional Dimensions on Causal Selection.- Summary and Conclusion.- 9. Replicating the Theoretical Associations.- A Laboratory Course in Attribution Theory.- Summing Up.- Appendix: Experiments.- References.- Author Index.