Attributional retraining and achievement goals: An exploratory study on theoretical and empirical relationship/Reconversion attributionnelle et buts d'accomplissement: une contribution exploratoire de leurs liens theoriques et empiriques

Introduction Achievement goals and attribution theory are theoretically and empirically linked, but existing literature lacks to explore the link between achievement goals and attributional retraining (AR), a motivational intervention based on the causal attribution theory. Objective(s) The aims of this field study were to determine the effectiveness of an AR treatment aimed to restructure college students’ dysfunctional causal explanations of poor performance and to explore whether achievement goals are predictive of the use of adaptive causal attributions. Methods Students’ achievement goals orientation and causal attributions were assessed and AR treatment was provided to a sample of second-year college students with maladaptive attributional schemas. Results Findings confirmed the effectiveness of AR treatment in restructuring self-defeating stable attributional explanations and suggested that achievement goals are implicated in the adoption of adaptive causal dimensions. Conclusion The importance of integrating the two discussed theoretical models in order to provide efficacious AR interventions with students at risk is discussed.