NOT ONLY ATTRIBUTIONS - STUDENTS COGNITIO NS FOLLOWING EXAM RESULTS

The results of attribution research are usually based on reactive attr ibutions demanded by the instructions themselves. Examining spontaneou s verbal reports is the appropriate method to analyse the antecedents of the cognitions. This study investigated the antecedents of spontane ous causal, evaluative, and finalistic cognitions. A few days before a test the expected grade of each of N=96 students was recorded. Immedi ately after the announcement of the result, students had to write down their cognitions regarding their results. Findings show that students who were uncertain in their expectation were more likely to attribute following failures than following successes. In addition, these stude nts produced more attributions following failure than students with ce rtain expectations.