Self-Reflection

As a Psychology major, I've learned the value of self-esteem and respect. The attribution theory was the most relevant topic to my personal experiences. This theory investigates how people understand events in their life. For example, when I received a failing grade in History, I became enraged and blamed the teacher. My friend, on the other hand, failed, but he accepted the outcome and vowed to work harder on the subject. It is evident from the two examples that we both reacted differently to the failure. In my case, I attributed my failure to the teacher, whereas my friend attributed his failure to a lack of effort.  Attribution theory provides the basis of why individuals respond differently to the same outcomes. Some people will resort to working harder; others will give up or blame other individuals for negative outcomes (Weiner, 1985). As a student, I have been attributing all of my failures to individuals, which affected my resiliency and persistence. The study of attribution theory helped to have control on the different outcomes in life. I learned how to react to success and failures at different times in my life. I started perceiving myself as unique, and I have a different approach to certain situations in life.

I also learned that my childhood influenced the way I perceive life currently. By reflecting on my background in the leafy suburbs, I have never experienced the hard nature of life. This perception has immensely affected my personality. For instance, I might think partying is cool, but my friend thinks it is dangerous and out of control. From this module, I have learned that through attribution retraining I can be able to understand myself better. Moreover, I can have a better comprehension of my attribution responses and how to develop these responses in future. So far, I have been successful in trying attribution training programs such as identification of undesirable behaviors and favorable attribution patterns (Weiner, 1985). My attributions have changed and become more positive ever since I started the program.

The material learned in class provides knowledge on how we can improve student attributions with time. Firstly, I realized discussing my attributions with our class teacher helped me as a person. In the past, I used to think failure ever was a result of a specific individual. My teacher explained that I should attribute failure to ability rather than to lack of effort (Weiner, 1985). By explaining these subtle differences, the teacher boosted my self-confidence and learning levels. Shortly, when I have children, I now know the importance of teaching my children to distinguish between the different attributional responses. Additionally, in the workplace, discussing my attributional aspects will enable me to embrace the job with optimism.

Furthermore, the module encouraged the importance of attributional retraining. The training focuses on embracing positive emotions rather than anger to any outcome. This optimism in life enabled my grades to become better. I started improving my weak areas dramatically, and this made me more satisfied with school work (Weiner, 1985). This positive mentality can be emulated in the workplace, where I will feel more satisfied with my career choice in future. Since the basis of attributional retraining focuses on efforts, I observed a steady improvement in our class’ performance. This improvement is as a result of motivation and our perceived control to failures.

The significance of attributional retraining is also applicable to students with disabilities since they can control their aggressiveness and discipline (Glasgow et al., 1997). The foundation for attribution retraining was the survey in the materials issued in class. I responded honestly to the survey, and I was able to know my weak areas. I profoundly realized I always felt hopeless and angry after failing an exam. Also, I found out that I usually seek help from a friend to get high grades. Panicking and tension, were my core reasons for failure. This realization made me develop effective strategies to improve my performance. After learning the useful tips in attributional training, I was able to know the significance of attributional retraining in life. I figured it could also help me in my future career and parenting.

Parenting involves controlling children’s behavior in their relation to discipline. Sometimes parents give birth to children with developmental delays (Glasgow et al., 1997). Utilizing my skills learned in this module, I realized putting attributions into perspective while raising a child is crucial. Parental involvement in the development of their children is essential; the parents should take a keen look at their behaviors when the children are around them. Besides, they should make their kids aware of the aspirations and expectations they have regarding their children’s education. As a parent, I observed I should be able to assist my child, with homework, communication in school and participating in school decision making. This direct involvement in my child’s education will greatly contribute to his or her success.

Instilling success in children’s mind triggers positivism in their endeavors. They can focus on their aspirations and positive characters. Parents must be involved in fostering their children excellence; they should be knowledgeable, encouraging, and actively participating in their children behaviors. Investing my time as a parent in my kids’ development and academics will have a longitudinal effect in my kids’ education (Glasgow et al., 1997). From this module, I learned about attributes training which I will replicate to my children. I want them to learn how to respond to negative outcomes in life at an early age which will trigger educational improvements.

The focus on parental involvement can be determined by the level of the parents’ education. The amount of education that parents receive is a crucial determinant on how they will structure their home environment and associate with their children to boost their academic performance. It is important that parents, whoever much they are busy, to develop their child attributes. However, there are some hindrances regarding parent’s involvement in their children growth. These challenges include psychological barriers and cultural differences with their teachers. The closeness of a parent-child relationship determines the attributive aspects of the child (Glasgow et al., 1997). When being close to my child, he or she can relate well to me. I am able to guide the child to do the correct thing. I advise him or her at an early age to know success and failures are processes in life. This way I will be developing my child’s ability to relate to the real worlds, both in academics and sports.

When administering attribution-based parenting, It is advisable should not use authoritative means, but permissive means. The adolescent children do not usually correlate well with authoritative language. Their development needs a parent to discuss with them on how to make the correct choices and be ready for their consequences. As a parent, it is essential to take note that different children have different abilities. The children should be able to understand this statement. They should not be discouraged when they fail or do something dismally. Instead, as a parent, I should give them hope because the frustration that comes with failure is unhealthy. It can lead to learned hopelessness. Children who have learned helplessness exhibit these characteristics; avoidance of challenging tasks, negative expectations and decreased performance.

Therefore, attribution theory is important in parenting. When I realize my child is experiencing learned helplessness, I can fight the menace using attribution retraining. This training enables the child to embark on task persistence (Glasgow et al., 1997). The different types of parental styles have a greater impact on the child’s educational achievement, socialization, and development Children from authoritative backgrounds score higher grades than students from permissive backgrounds. At an early age, it is critical to raise a child in an authoritative environment for positive outcomes. If a parent delays till the child matures to an adolescent stage, it is hard to control the child’s activities. In conclusion, from my experience and this module’s materials, I have learned the importance of attribute theory in my life and parenthood.



References

Glasgow, K. L., Dornbusch, S. M., Troyer, L., Steinberg, L., & Ritter, P. L. (1997). Parenting styles, adolescents' attributions, and educational outcomes in nine heterogeneous high schools. Child development, 68(3), 507-529.

Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological review, 92(4), 548.