The Explanatory Production among Fourth-Graders to Ninth-Graders: Impact of Institutional and Social Demands on the Development of Unstable Internal Causality

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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Explanatory Production among Fourth-Graders to Ninth-Graders: Impact of Institutional and Social Demands on the Development of Unstable Internal Causality
Language: English
Authors: Py, Jacques, Jouffre, Stephane
Source: European Journal of Psychology of Education. Sep 2009 24(3):307-323.
Availability: Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada. Rua Jardim do Tabaco, 34, Lisboa 1149-041, Portugal. Tel: +351-21-881-1700; Fax: +351-21-886-0954; Web site: http://www.ispa.pt/ISPA/vEN/Public
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2009
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Intermediate Grades
Descriptors: Attribution Theory, Elementary School Students, Secondary School Students, Locus of Control, Age Differences, Foreign Countries
Geographic Terms: France
ISSN: 0256-2928
Abstract: The causal explanation has an effect: (1) on expectancy and value at an intra-individual level (Weiner, 2000); (2) on feeling and affective evaluation at an interpersonal level (Weiner 2000); and (3) on institutional judgment at an organizational level (Dubois, 2003). A study was conducted with pupils between the 4th and 9th grades in order to explore how evident these constraints are in the production of causal explanations in response to daily events. The analyses of variance performed on the number of explanations produced (for each type of explanation--internal stable, internal unstable, external stable and external unstable) indicated, firstly, that the number of explanations of all four types increased with school grade. Secondly, academic events elicited more internal unstable explanations and did so to a greater extent as school grade increased. They also elicited more internal stable explanations and fewer external (stable or unstable) explanations than non-academic events. Thirdly, pupils produced more internal stable explanations in response to positive compared to negative events, whereas the reverse was observed for internal unstable explanations. These results are discussed in reference to the two constraints involved in explanations of daily events: an organisational constraint relating to the existence of social valorization of internal explanations and an intra-individual constraint bound to the preservation of self-esteem. (Contains 3 notes.)
Abstractor: As Provided
Number of References: 66
Entry Date: 2009
Access URL: https://www.ispa.pt/ejpe/online.asp
Accession Number: EJ858031
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:The causal explanation has an effect: (1) on expectancy and value at an intra-individual level (Weiner, 2000); (2) on feeling and affective evaluation at an interpersonal level (Weiner 2000); and (3) on institutional judgment at an organizational level (Dubois, 2003). A study was conducted with pupils between the 4th and 9th grades in order to explore how evident these constraints are in the production of causal explanations in response to daily events. The analyses of variance performed on the number of explanations produced (for each type of explanation--internal stable, internal unstable, external stable and external unstable) indicated, firstly, that the number of explanations of all four types increased with school grade. Secondly, academic events elicited more internal unstable explanations and did so to a greater extent as school grade increased. They also elicited more internal stable explanations and fewer external (stable or unstable) explanations than non-academic events. Thirdly, pupils produced more internal stable explanations in response to positive compared to negative events, whereas the reverse was observed for internal unstable explanations. These results are discussed in reference to the two constraints involved in explanations of daily events: an organisational constraint relating to the existence of social valorization of internal explanations and an intra-individual constraint bound to the preservation of self-esteem. (Contains 3 notes.)
ISSN:0256-2928