SPONTANEOUS COGNITIONS AFTER THE ANNOUNCE MENT OF EXAM RESULTS

The current study deals with N = 35 students' spontaneous verbalizatio ns immediately after they had received their exam results respective f our weeks later. Immediately after the announcement of the result ther e were more evaluative and causal cognitions, whereas four weeks later finalistic cognitions dominated. Students who experienced personal su ccess (who performed better than they had expected) tended to produce evaluative thoughts immediately after receiving their results. At both times, students who received worse grades than expected showed an inc rease in causal reasoning. Results are discussed with regard to the an tecedents of causal search in natural achievement situations.