OBJECTIVE These two studies were conducted to determine 1) in which settings optimistic AS helps and in which it impedes academic achievement (performance), 2) which explanatory style helps academic achievement - for positive or for negative situations, 3) whether optimistic explanatory style is as important for school achievement as for entrance examination at the university. OR Does pessimistic AS always cause people to give up and be people less successful in academic settings? ATTRIBUTIONAL STYLES AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: A NEW LOOK AT AN OLD PROBLEM Tamara O. Gordeeva, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Department o Psychology, Russia, Evgeny N. Osin, University of East London, UK / Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, Study 1 METHODS AND SAMPLE The Russian version of ASQ - the Success and Failure Explanatory Style Questionnaire (SFESQ, Gordeeva, Osin, Shevyakhova, 2009) was used to investigate the relationship between explanatory style and academic performance. SFESQ measures three attributional dimensions (globality, stability and controllability) for positive (9) and negative (15) events in achievement and interpersonal domains. All items are keyed to reflect optimistic attribution (the stability and pervasiveness items are inverted for negative situations). The Cronbach alpha reliability values were found to be relatively high, ranging from.80 to.83 for positive situations, and from.76 to.83 for negative situations. No significant gender differences were found on any of the optimism scales. The questionnaire was completed in class by 300 high school children from Moscow, Biysk and Magadan (116 males and 184 females, median age 16). As a measure of academic achievement the students' last term’s grades in 4 school subjects (algebra, geometry, Russian language and literature) were used. INTRODUCTION Attributional (or explanatory) style reflects the habitual manner in which people explain the causes of events for themselves (Peterson, Seligman, 1984). People with a more optimistic explanatory style report higher levels of well-being. At the same time, studies of attributional style (AS) as a predictor of academic, sport and professional achievement have produced contradictory results. Attributional style reflects the habitual manner in which people explain the causes of events for themselves (Peterson, Seligman, 1984). People with a more optimistic explanatory style report higher levels of well-being. Recent studies also suggest that attributional style for positive events is as important as attributional style for negative events in predicting well-being. At the same time, studies of attributional style as a predictor of academic achievement have produced contradictory results. One of the reasons is the focus on negative events exclusively, another reason is the complex nature of academic achievement. The aim of the present study was to analyze the associations of attributional style for positive and for negative events with academic achievement at school and results of entrance examination at the university. 279 school children (Grades 10-11) and 217 university applicants participated in the two studies. They completed a modified version of ASQ (Gordeeva, Osin, Shevyakhova, 2007), that measures globality, stability and controllability for positive and negative events in achievement and interpersonal situations. Data analysis using multiple regression shows that global explanations of positive achievement-related events are associated with higher grades in high school students. This effect is especially pronounced for low-achieving students. However, entrance examination students showed a more complicated pattern of associations which will be outlined and discussed. GRADES Optimism for positive situations.26*** Stability.25*** Globality.18** Controllability.21** Optimism for negative situations.02 Stability.01 Globality.14 Controllability-.11 Table 1. Pearson correlations between optimism scales and academic achievement (N=224) *** p <.001, ** p <.01, * p <.05 It was found that optimistic explanations of positive events (situations) are important predictors of school achievement. More successful students tend to explain positive situations as permanent, global, and controllable. This effect is more pronounced for achievement situations. The explanatory style for negative situations is unrelated to academic performance at school. Study 2a METHODS AND SAMPLE The sample was comprised by entrants to the Psychology Department of Moscow State University (N=108, 17 males and 91 females, median age 17). Approximately 20% of all 2006 applicants participated in the study. During the initial application period which spans two weeks prior to entrance examinations, entrants were invited to participate in a psychological study in order to help advance the psychological science. The methods used to predict academic achievement were SFESQ (Russian versions of ASQ), as well as the Spielberger Trait Depression Scale (Ritterband & Spielberger, 1996), Personal Views Survey (Maddi, 1997), Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwartzer, 1993), and Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). As a measure of situational self-efficacy, participants were asked to indicate their expected chances of success in entering the university on a 0 to 100 percent scale. To measure achievement, scores for Math, Literature and Biology exams obtained during entrance examinations were used. RESULTS Scale Examination result t-value (df=85)p-level SUCCESS (N=32) FAILURE (N=55) Positive Situations p <.05 Stability p =.09 Globality p <.01 Controllability p =.22 Negative situations p <.01 Stability p <.001 Globality p =.21 Controllability p <.05 Optimism (total score, sum) p <.001 RESULTS Table 2. Differences between successful and unsuccessful applicants No significant differences on any other scales were found. Success at entrance examinations (at MSU, Dept. of Psychology, 2006) was associated with pessimistic explanatory style. Most successful entrants tended to explain good events as local and negative events as stable and uncontrollable. Figure 2. Path diagram of relationship between optimism and examination success (N=108) CONCLUSIONS Optimistic explanations are important predictors of high school achievement. Contrary to results obtained by Seligman & Shulman (1986) and consistent with findings obtained by British researchers Corr & Gray (1996), we found that this effect was only pronounced for positive events, rather than negative. This result might be culture-specific. On the contrary, success during university entrance examinations was associated with pessimistic explanatory style. Most successful entrants tended to explain negative events as stable and uncontrollable, and good events as local. Our results indicate that optimistic thinking might be of different value in different settings and are consistent with the findings obtained by other researchers which suggest that Optimism is a predictor of academic achievement in settings that require daily persistence and good mood (at school and for sales, see Seligman & Shulman (1986), Noelen-Hoeksema, Girgus, & Seligman (1986), Corr & Gray (1996), Leeson, Ciarrochi, & Heaven (2008), and Pessimism might be helpful for smart students to pass difficult examinations at the university and be successful in other difficult activities that require immediate and intensive effort and high concentration on the subject (see Satterfield, Monahan, Seligman (1997), Houston (1994), Davis & Zaichkowski (1998), LaForge & Cantrell (2003), Yee, Pierce, Ptacek, Modzelesky (2003)). Study 2b A second study aimed to replicate the results of Study 2a was performed on university applicants (N=110) the following year (also at Moscow State University, Department of Psychology). However, this study did not reveal any significant associations between examination success and explanatory style. Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation for funding this research. Special thanks to Dmitry Leontiev, Galina Ivanchenko, Valentina Shevyakhova and Oleg Sychev for their assistance. Figure 1. Structural model of relationships between academic success, optimistic explanatory style, self-esteem and subjective well-being (N=224).