VALENCE OF OUTCOME AND EXPECTATION OF SUCCESS IN RELATION TO TASK DIFFICULTY AND PERCEIVED LOCUS OF CONTROL

76 SS PROVIDED ESTIMATES OF PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS, ATTRACTIVENESS OF SUCCESS, AND REPULSIVENESS OF FAILURE FOR EACH OF 10 LEVELS OF OBJECTIVE DIFFICULTY OF THE SAME TASK, FOR THE 1ST AND LAST TRIALS OF THE TASK. RESULTS INDICATE THAT, WHEN SUCCESS OR FAILURE COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO SKILL RATHER THAN CHANCE, FOR THE LAST TRIAL OF THE TASK, (1) PROBABILITY ESTIMATES AND REPULSIVENESS ESTIMATES WERE HIGHER AND DECREASED MORE RAPIDLY WITH INCREASING DIFFICULTY, (2) ATTRACTIVENESS ESTIMATES WERE HIGHER AND INCREASED MORE RAPIDLY WITH INCREASING DIFFICULTY. IN ADDITION, WHERE SUCCESS COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO CHANCE RATHER THAN SKILL, ATTRACTIVENESS ESTIMATES INCREASED MORE RAPIDLY WITH INCREASING DIFFICULTY ON THE 1ST TRIAL THAN ON THE LAST TRIAL (A PRIMACY EFFECT). NO CORRESPONDING PRIMACY EFFECT WAS FOUND FOR REPULSIVENESS ESTIMATES. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS BETWEEN RATE OF CHANGE MEASURES AND A COMPOSITE DIFFERENCE SCORE INVOLVING MEASURES OF N ACH AND DEBILITATING ANXIETY. NOR WERE THE RATE MEASURES SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED WITH A MEASURE OF EXTERNAL CONTROL. RESULTS ARE DISCUSSED AS INDICATING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SITUATIONAL CONTEXT IN DETERMINING THE DEGREE TO WHICH AN S SEES HIMSELF AS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS SUCCESS OR FAILURE AND THEREBY HIS REACTIONS TO THE OUTCOME. (22 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).