Attribution asymmetry after success and failure: Motivational bias or rational information processing?

Attribution asymmetry after success and failure has often been interpreted as the result of a motivational bias. Some critics have argued, however, th at attribution patterns supposed to be motivationally biased may also occur as the result of rational information processing. According to this line o f reasoning, highly competent individuals have good reasons for taking resp onsibility for success but not for occasional failure. The same attribution asymmetry is not to be expected for less competent individuals, however be cause they are more likely to attribute occasional success to some external cause and to make internal attributions for their frequent failure. In lin e with this reasoning, among 74 participants in a statistics exam attributi on asymmetry after success and failure was found only for subjects with pos itive academic self-concepts and high competence. The assumption of a unive rsal motivational bins underlying the attribution asymmetry after success a nd failure is called into question by this result.