In this article the history of the attribution approach to emotion and motivation is reviewed. Early motivation theorists incorporated emotion within the pleasure/pain principle but they did not recognize specific emotions. This changed when Atkinson introduced his theory of achievement motivation, which argued that achievement strivings are determined by the anticipated emotions of pride and shame. Attribution theorists then suggested many other emotional reactions to success and failure that are determined by the perceived causes of achievement outcomes and the shared (...) characteristics or dimensions of causality. The article outlines the hypothesized dimensional antecedents of a number of self- and other-directed achievement-related emotions following success and failure. Motivational consequences of emotions also are highlighted. (shrink)

I related the following story to my large undergraduate class: “Johnny Jones was born with an impulsive temperament. On the way home one day he found a gun that had apparently been thrown away. He then went to rob a bank. The bank had just hired a security guard for protection. When Johnny attempted the robbery he was confronted by the guard and fatally shot him.” I then asked the students in the class to select one of the following.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Phenomenal Causality From Classification to Dynamics Interpersonal Motivation References.