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Relations among Autonomy, Attribution Style, and Happiness in College Students

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Title: Relations among Autonomy, Attribution Style, and Happiness in College Students
Language: English
Authors: O'Donnell, Susan L., Chang, Kelly B., Miller, Kristen S.
Source: College Student Journal. Mar 2013 47(1):228-234.
Availability: Project Innovation, Inc. P.O. Box 8508 Spring Hill Station, Mobile, AL 36689-0508. Tel: 251-343-1878; Fax: 251-343-1878; Web site: http://www.projectinnovation.biz/csj.html
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 7
Publication Date: 2013
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: College Students, Psychological Patterns, Personal Autonomy, Attribution Theory, Cognitive Processes, Correlation, Well Being, Student Attitudes, Questionnaires, Measures (Individuals), Regression (Statistics)
Assessment and Survey Identifiers: Attribution Style Questionnaire
ISSN: 0146-3934
Abstract: Research suggests that a personal sense of autonomy supports individuals' success in a variety of domains, but information regarding these processes remains unclear. This paper attempts to establish a link between personal autonomy and cognitive processes, in the form of attributions for success and failure, in establishing a sense of subjective well-being, or happiness. One hundred and forty-one, primarily white (57%), college students (69% female) ranging in age from 17-27 ("M" = 18.8) responded to a series of questionnaires. Using bootstrapping analysis, autonomy was revealed to mediate attribution styles related to happiness, "CI" = 0.05-0.31; the reverse was also true, "CI" = 0.14-0.86, suggesting that these two processes are bidirectional. It may be that happiness relies, at least in part, on both a sense of control and a positive explanatory style for events in one's life.
Abstractor: As Provided
Number of References: 41
Entry Date: 2014
Access URL: https://www.projectinnovation.biz/csj_2006.html
Accession Number: EJ1022205
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0092757401;cgl01mar.13;2013Dec13.10:20;v2.2.460</anid> <title id="AN0092757401-1">RELATIONS AMONG AUTONOMY, ATTRIBUTION STYLE, AND HAPPINESS IN COLLEGE STUDENTS </title> <p>Research suggests that a personal sense of autonomy supports individuals' success in a variety of domains, but information regarding these processes remains unclear. This paper attempts to establish a link between personal autonomy and cognitive processes, in the form of attributions for success and failure, in establishing a sense of subjective well-being, or happiness. One hundred and forty-one, primarily white (57%), college students (69% female) ranging in age from 17-27 (M=18.8) responded to a series of questionnaires. Using bootstrapping analysis, autonomy was revealed to mediate attribution styles related to happiness, CI = .05-.31; the reverse was also true, CI = .14-.86, suggesting that these two processes are bidirectional. It may be that happiness relies, at least in part, on both a sense of control and a positive explanatory style for events in one's life.</p> <p>Keywords: autonomy; happiness; subjective well-being; attribution style; emerging adulthood</p> <p>Happiness, or subjective well-being (SWB), has become a hot topic of research in recent years, particularly since the emergence of positive psychology. Two major schools of thought coexist: those who either believe happiness to be primarily affectively based (hedonic, e.g., I feel happy) and those who believe it to be primarily cognitively based (e.g., I am happy with my life; Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005). A third school, based in part on Headey and Wearing's (1989) dynamic equilibrium model, focuses on the interplay of cognitive processes regarding life events and affect in determining one's SWB. While no definitive definition exists, there is a general consensus that happiness is a balance of positive and negative affect, positive judgment about one's life satisfaction, and a sense of harmony (Chekola, 2007; Fave, Brdar, Freire, Vella-Brodrick, & Wissing, 2011; Headey & Wearing, 1989; Linley, Maltby, Wood, Osborn, & Hurling, 2009).</p> <p>Many studies have attempted to better understand the relations between positive events and happiness (Lyubomirsky, 2001; Lyubomirsky, et al., 2005; Myers & Diener, 1995). The term relations intentionally highlights a misleading trend in the research, which is to use the term effect, implying that happiness is a direct result of positive events or circumstances, such as financial stability or personal success. Rather, Lyubomirsky and colleagues found that while successful people do have a tendency to happy, it may in fact be characterological happiness which produces the behaviors and cognitions necessary to be successful. Thus, the relationship between happiness and positive outcomes should be seen as bidirectional, both emerging out of positive events but also aiding in leading to them.</p> <p>Lyubomirsky and her colleagues (2005) also found that happiness is related to a myriad of positive outcomes, aside from and in addition to success. Relationally, happier individuals have more fulfilling marriages and friendships, and are more involved in their communities. They are more likely to have higher incomes, greater work productivity, and better mental and physical health. Chronically happy people tend to be more sociable, optimistic, energetic, original, and altruistic (Norrish & Vella-Brodrick, 2008). Because of these benefits, Cummins, Mellor, and Stokes (2009) propose that, when people are happy, society as a whole benefits and functions better.</p> <p>Despite the typical focus on success and happiness, it has been found that, as long as one's basic needs are met, financial status and material wealth do not account for individuals' perceptions of happiness (Lyubomirsky, 2001; Norrish & Vella-Brodrick, 2008). So what does account for one's happiness? The construal theory of happiness provides a way to understand the weak links between life events and happiness. According to this theory, specific cognitive processes influence the impact of life circumstances on happiness, rather than a non-existent "objective" reality (Lyubomirsky, 2001). Lyubomirsky and Tucker (1998) report that happy and unhappy students experienced similar events, but later looked back on them differently -- happy students were more likely to draw humor or life-lessons from negative events than were unhappy students. It is important to expand our understanding of these cognitive linkages with happiness. This paper proposes to examine happiness in light of autonomy and attribution styles.</p> <p>Autonomy</p> <p>Autonomy has typically been defined in various ways, generally reflecting an ability to govern oneself, make decisions and choose one's own pathways, and think for oneself (Collins, 1990). In particular, self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) proposes that autonomy is one of three core needs (along with competence and relatedness); needs essential for healthy psychological functioning. In this model, autonomy is more than a behavior; it includes the idea of a fundamental sense of freedom. Not surprisingly, research suggests that people report greater SWB when they feel autonomous in their choices and actions (Chen & Furnham, 2001; Sheldon, Kasser, Houser-Marko, Jones, & Turban, 2005).</p> <p>Some may argue that SDT is based on a western/individualistic view of the world. However, research shows that autonomy does not conflict with the values of collectivistic or interdependent cultures. A recent study in Bangladesh, a country that has had little western influence, contends that autonomy is a trait that is both highly valued and central to SWB in even "the poorest countries in the world where conditions of subordination and adversity are ubiquitous" (Devine, Camfield, & Gough, 2008, p. 131).</p> <p>In addition to being highly valued in most cultures, there is also a robust literature that has linked feelings of autonomy with a variety of healthy outcomes in adolescence and adulthood, including decreased susceptibility to negative peer influences, increased popularity, and decreases in depressive symptoms (Allen, Porter, & McFarland, 2006), increased engagement with school and academics (Grolnick & Ryan, 1987; Grolnick, Ryan, & Deci, 1991; Zimmer-Gembeck, Chipuer, Hanisch, Creed, & McGregor, 2006), increased job satisfaction (Sweeney, 1993), better attention to personal health care (Williams, Grow, Freedman, Ryan, & Deci, 1996), the reasons behind participation in religious behaviors (Ryan, Rigby, & King, 1993), and greater subjective well-being (Sheldon & Niemiec, 2006). Furthermore, these findings are consistent across such diverse ethnic groups as Israelis (Shulman, Cohen, Feldman, & Mahler, 2006), Japanese (Hayamizu, 1997; Yamauchi & Tanaka, 1998), Koreans (Chung & Gale, 2006), and Russians (Chirkov & Ryan, 2001).</p> <p>These findings act as further evidence of the necessity of autonomy for healthy psychological functioning and well-being. While autonomy plays an important role in SWB however, it is unlikely the relationship is direct and straightforward. Construal theory of happiness suggests that an individual's characteristic way of thinking about events should also be involved in determining SWB (Lyubomirsky, 2001).</p> <p>Attribution Style</p> <p>Dweck's (1986, 1988, 1999) work on attributions for both success and failure suggests a link between attribution style and SWB. Different combinations of attributions have been associated with a mastery orientation, leading to further success, or learned helplessness, leading to further failures. Peterson and colleagues (1986) have associated such causal attributions with depression, while Rigby and Huebner (2005) have made similar associations with life satisfaction. Intrinsic goals have also been associated with increased happiness (Kasser & Ryan, 1993, 1996).</p> <p>Attributions consist of three different parts: internality, stability, and globality. Internal attributions consist of explanations for events that are based within the person themselves and external attributions place the explanation outside of oneself (e.g., I did it, vs. it was done to me). Stability refers to whether or not the cause of an event is likely to reoccur (e.g., it will always happen, vs. this was a one-time event), and globality refers to whether or not that cause affects all areas or simply one domain (e.g., everything I do turns out like this, vs. this only happens in math class). Attribution styles are patterns of specific attributions that individuals tend to use; they can be different for positive and negative events and are associated with different outcomes. Negative attributions may lead to increased likelihood of depression (Abrahamson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989; Metalsky, Halberstadt, & Abramson, 1987) while positive attributions lead to increased SWB (e.g., Cheng & Furnham, 2001; Fletcher, Fitness, & Blampied, 1990).</p> <p>The current study</p> <p>We propose to examine undergraduates' self-reports of autonomy, attribution styles and happiness in an attempt to understand the relations among these variables. We expect to find that high levels of autonomy predict happiness, and that attribution style will mediate the relationship between autonomy and happiness.</p> <hd id="AN0092757401-2">Methods</hd> <p>Participants</p> <p>One hundred and forty-one participants (69% female) ranging in age from 17-27 (M=18.8) were recruited from General Psychology courses at a small private university in the Pacific Northwest. The majority reported white ethnicity (57%), 11% Asian, and 36% declined to answer.</p> <p>Measures</p> <p>Happiness. Fordyce's PsycHap Inventory (PHI; Fordyce, 1985) was used to assess levels of self-reported happiness. The PHI uses 80 paired statements (e.g., I am content vs. I am not content) to assess self-reported levels of happiness across four conceptual subscales (achieved personal happiness, e.g., I like the way my life is going; happy personality, e.g., I am concerned for others; happiness attitudes and values, e.g., I have generally positive thoughts; and happiness lifestyle, e.g., I am active and involved); a total score is derived from the combined scale scores. The author reports acceptable validity scores for the total measure; reliability information was not provided.</p> <p>Attributions. The Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ; Peterson, Semmel, von Baeyer, Abramson, Metalsky, & Seligman, 1982) was used to assess attributions for positive and negative events. The ASQ asks participants to think of specific examples from their own lives of 12 hypothetical events (e.g., Your friend compliments you on your appearance; You have been looking for a job unsuccessfully for some time). After "vividly imagining" the scenario happening to them, they are to decide what the most important cause for that scenario is, and write it down. They are then to assign a numerical score between 1-7 for internality, stability, and globality of that cause. Positive and negative events are scored separately, arriving at six subscale scores (internality for positive events, internality for negative events, etc.). To create composite positive and negative attribution scores, responses for all positive scenarios were summed together as were responses for all negative scenarios. Finally, a total score was computed by subtracting the negative composite from the positive composite, arriving at a single value ranging from -18 to +18 encompassing overall attribution style. The authors report alpha coefficients of .75 and .72 for the positive and negative composite scales respectively; alphas for the six subscales averaged .54. They also note that attributions for positive and negative events do not correlate (r = .02), suggesting that individuals make attributions differently for different types of events. Test-retest reliability was acceptable, averaging .70 for positive and .64 for negative events.</p> <p>Autonomy. The Young Adult Autonomy Scale (YAA; O'Donnell, n.d.) measures self-reported emotional autonomy across seven different domains (e.g., moral decisions, education, family and personal relationships) by asking participants to rate their control over different decisions, relative to their parents. Items were derived from a list generated by the author after consultation with other researchers, and tested empirically. High scores are to be expected in a college age population, living away from home, so items were added that included areas over which young adults should not reasonably have complete control (such as time spent with parents), resulting in 34 items total. Responses are on a 4 point scale consisting of I have no control over this, I have a little control over this, I have a lot of control over this, and I have complete control over this. Scores are summed across all items, and generally skew high but do not demonstrate a ceiling effect. At development, test-retest reliability was good (r = .87) suggesting stability of the trait, as was split half reliability (r = .83) suggesting a single construct. Thus, we considered it appropriate for use in the current study.</p> <p>Procedures</p> <p>Participants were enrolled in one of four sections of the introductory psychology course and were asked to complete the measures during the first 3 weeks of the semester. Class credit was given for participation, so most students chose to participate. An alternate assignment was made available in case a student wished to decline. No students declined to participate, although some were absent on the day the tests were administered.</p> <hd id="AN0092757401-3">Results</hd> <p>We began data analysis by examining whether there were age or gender differences in our data (too many participants declined to provide ethnicity data; these analyses could not be conducted). With all alphas were set at .05, no such differences were found. Means, standard deviations, and ranges for each of the scales are shown in Table 1. Next, we calculated Pearson's correlations between the variables. All three were significant but low enough that we can conclude that they are not redundant with each other (see Table 2).</p> <p>Linear regression confirmed the expected relation between autonomy and happiness, R² = .11, p < .01, β = .33. In order to investigate our hypothesis that attribution style mediates the effect of autonomy on happiness, we followed Preacher and Hayes's (2004, 2008; Hayes, 2009) bootstrapping method to estimate standard errors and confidence intervals. Using repeated resamples with replacement, the test estimates the a and b paths between the IV and the mediator, and the mediator and DV respectively. It then averages these estimates to arrive at an estimate of the CI that allows us to draw conclusions about the true size of the indirect effect such that if the CI does not include zero, we can conclude that the indirect effects are also not zero. The method does not require a normal distribution of the indirect effect, as does the Sobel test. Nor does it require pathways between variables to be statistically significant, as does Baron and Kenny's (1986) approach. Our CI was set at 95% with 5000 samples as suggested by Preacher and Hayes. Our hypothesis was supported, Indirect Effect = .14, SE = .06, 95% CI = .05-.31 (bias corrected and accelerated).</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/cgl/01mar13/232n1.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="232n1.jpg" title="TABLE: Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, and Range for happiness, autonomy, and attribution style." /> </p> <hd id="AN0092757401-5">Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, and Range for happiness, autonomy, and attribution style</hd> <p>Variable M (SD) Range Happiness 48.2 (12.9) 17-114 Autonomy 113.92 (8.6) 89-133 Attribution Style 2.11 (2.6) -10-10</p> <p>Because the correlation between autonomy and attribution style was significant, we tested the relation in reverse, with autonomy mediating effects of attribution style on happiness. This test was also significant, Indirect Effect = .44, SE = .18, 95% CI = .14-.86. This suggests that influences are likely bidirectional.</p> <hd id="AN0092757401-6">Discussion</hd> <p>Our hypothesis that happiness would be related to perceived autonomy was supported, providing support for Deci and Ryan's (2000) theory that a sense of feeling in control of one's own destiny is an important component of SWB. Furthermore, we also found support for the construal theory of happiness in that attribution styles mediated this relation. A high sense of autonomy does not necessarily lead to happiness if one also has a negative explanatory style for the events in one's life. This finding suggests that cognitive processes do indeed matter. It is interesting that the reverse was also found. Autonomy also mediated the relation between attribution style and happiness, which indicates that positive attributions without a sense of control also do not lead to happiness. A bidirectional relation between autonomy and attribution style indicates the interdependence of psychosocial characteristics and cognitive styles as adolescents figure out who they are and what they believe about their ability to impact their own lives. These findings contribute an important piece to the puzzle of understanding why some individuals are happier than others, and because happiness is thought to lead to specific positive events, we can use it to help understand why some individuals achieve more success than others. Those who work with adolescents -- or even their parents -- might use this understanding to facilitate development of autonomy and positive attribution styles, fostering greater SWB. Allen and Allen (2009) provide persuasive evidence of the usefulness of this approach when they argue that there are powerful ways to change adolescents' experience of the world by simply engaging them in meaning-making -- changing their sense of autonomy, and how they think about success and failure.</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/cgl/01mar13/232n2.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84v%2bvlOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="232n2.jpg" title="TABLE: Table 2. Intercorrelations between happiness, autonomy, and attribution style." /> </p> <hd id="AN0092757401-8">Table 2. Intercorrelations between happiness, autonomy, and attribution style</hd> <p>Variable Happiness Autonomy Attribution style Happiness .33** .35** Autonomy .37** ** p < .01.</p> <p>This study has some important limitations. First, because data were all collected at one time point, we cannot truly make a causal inference from the results. Future research should include longitudinal data in order to establish temporal precedence, allowing us to investigate whether either autonomy or attribution style precedes the other, suggesting a causal link that these data cannot. It would also be preferable to have data on participants' ethnicity in order to examine possible variations in the obtained response patterns. Future research will consider additional cognitive processes that might also influence the relations between autonomy and happiness, such as self-regulation and self-concept. It will also be profitable to examine parent-adolescent relationship features in this framework in order to attempt to identify possible pathways that lead to the development of specific cognitive styles. In short, however, this study is an important look at the ways in which our sense of control and how we explain life events can influence our sense of SWB.</p> <hd id="AN0092757401-9">References</hd> <p>Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. 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  Data: Relations among Autonomy, Attribution Style, and Happiness in College Students
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  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22O'Donnell%2C+Susan+L%2E%22">O'Donnell, Susan L.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chang%2C+Kelly+B%2E%22">Chang, Kelly B.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Miller%2C+Kristen+S%2E%22">Miller, Kristen S.</searchLink>
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  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22College+Student+Journal%22"><i>College Student Journal</i></searchLink>. Mar 2013 47(1):228-234.
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  Data: Project Innovation, Inc. P.O. Box 8508 Spring Hill Station, Mobile, AL 36689-0508. Tel: 251-343-1878; Fax: 251-343-1878; Web site: http://www.projectinnovation.biz/csj.html
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  Data: Y
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  Data: 7
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  Data: 2013
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Students%22">College Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+Patterns%22">Psychological Patterns</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Personal+Autonomy%22">Personal Autonomy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attribution+Theory%22">Attribution Theory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+Processes%22">Cognitive Processes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Correlation%22">Correlation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Well+Being%22">Well Being</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Attitudes%22">Student Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Questionnaires%22">Questionnaires</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Measures+%28Individuals%29%22">Measures (Individuals)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Regression+%28Statistics%29%22">Regression (Statistics)</searchLink>
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  Data: 0146-3934
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Research suggests that a personal sense of autonomy supports individuals' success in a variety of domains, but information regarding these processes remains unclear. This paper attempts to establish a link between personal autonomy and cognitive processes, in the form of attributions for success and failure, in establishing a sense of subjective well-being, or happiness. One hundred and forty-one, primarily white (57%), college students (69% female) ranging in age from 17-27 ("M" = 18.8) responded to a series of questionnaires. Using bootstrapping analysis, autonomy was revealed to mediate attribution styles related to happiness, "CI" = 0.05-0.31; the reverse was also true, "CI" = 0.14-0.86, suggesting that these two processes are bidirectional. It may be that happiness relies, at least in part, on both a sense of control and a positive explanatory style for events in one's life.
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  Data: 41
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  Data: 2014
– Name: URL
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  Data: <link linkTarget="URL" linkTerm="https://www.projectinnovation.biz/csj_2006.html" linkWindow="_blank">http://www.projectinnovation.biz/csj_2006.html</link>
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  Data: EJ1022205
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    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 7
        StartPage: 228
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: College Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychological Patterns
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Personal Autonomy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Attribution Theory
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      – SubjectFull: Cognitive Processes
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      – SubjectFull: Correlation
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      – SubjectFull: Well Being
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      – SubjectFull: Student Attitudes
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      – SubjectFull: Measures (Individuals)
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      – SubjectFull: Attribution Style Questionnaire
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      – TitleFull: Relations among Autonomy, Attribution Style, and Happiness in College Students
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