Gender Differences in Self-attributions: Relationship of Gender to Attributional Consistency, Style and Expectations for Performance in a College Course

Results are reported for a study of college students that examined gender differences in the consistency of attributions over time, in general attributional style, and in specific explanations for performance in a course. Both genders demonstrated consistency over time. There was no difference in general attributional style by gender, and there was no difference in specific attributions for course performance by gender combined with accuracy in predicting performance. However, there was a difference in the explanations for performance selected by men versus women and in the explanations for performance selected by those students who accurately predicted their own performance versus inaccurate predictors. The sample was comprised of 113 men and 94 women; mostly in the 21 to 24 age range (108), followed by the 17 to 20 age range (78), the 24 to 27 range (16), 27 to 30 range (3) and the older than 30 range (2). The sample was mostly Caucasian (176), followed by Asian (13), African American (8), Hispanic (7), Other (2), and missing data (1). Most students were business majors (180), with 21 other majors and 6 missing data. Implications of these results are discussed in this article.