Using attribution theory to understand social and academic motivation in African American youth

Principles from attribution theory concerned with perceived responsibility in self and others are used as a conceptual framework for examining social motivation (i.e., peer-directed aggression) and academic motivation (i.e., achievement values) in African American youth. A series of studies on peer-directed aggression that was guided by the attributional framework is presented. Among the topics examined are: (a) the cognitive and socialization antecedents of aggressive boys' beliefs about others' responsibility, (b) their understanding of impression management strategies that individuals use to alter perceptions of responsibility, and (c) an intervention approach with aggressive African American boys that is designed to change biased perceptions about others' responsibility for negative outcomes. New findings on achievement values among African American adolescents that also fit within the attributional conception are then presented. The article concludes with a discussion of the importance of theory driven research in the psychological study of social problems such as aggression and achievement failure.