W06 Blog: Attributional Tendencies

People are know to make assumptions about one another. In the workplace one may assume that their boss is cold-hearted, especially if you only communicate with them when negative events, such as a missed deadline, occur. Another word for assumption is inference.

It is important to get to know the people you spend time with, whether that be friends, colleagues, or students. Understanding their attributional tendencies will help you better communicate with them.

Attributions are the assumptions or inferences that one makes about how other people and themselves will react to certain events.

Internal attributions infer that personality, including feelings, talents, and tendencies cause a person to react in a certain way. However, external attributions infer that certain situations and location cause a person to react in a certain way. In a way, attributions help us to guess what may make a person tick and what their reaction will be. This can also be used in a positive way.

If, as teachers, we begin to understand which methods of positive reinforcement will propel our students forward in their studies then we can more effectively use these methods in the classroom. We can also identify what methods would have a negative aspect on students' learning and engagement. Then we can either avoid those methods or, more likely, find ways to balance different methods to suit our various students.