Bouncing back from failure: the interactive impact of perceived controllability and stability on self-efficacy beliefs and future task performance.

addresses: Centre for Sport and Exercise Research, Staffordshire University, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2DF, UK. p.j.coffee@staffs.ac.uktypes: Journal ArticleThis is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Journal of Sports Sciences, 2009, Vol. 27, Issue 11, pp. 1117 – 1124 © 2011 copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/ DOI: 10.1080/02640410903030297There is limited empirical evidence of the relationship between attributions following failure and subsequent task performance. Two studies manipulated the perceived controllability and stability of causes of initial task failure and explored the impact of these factors on perceptions of self-efficacy and follow-up performance. Consistent with previous attributional and social identity theorizing, an induced belief that failure was both beyond control and unlikely to change led to lower self-efficacy and worse performance, relative to conditions in which outcomes were believed to be controllable and/or unstable. These findings point to the resilience of beliefs in personal self-efficacy, but suggest that where opportunities for self-enhancement are precluded, personal self-belief will be compromised and performance will suffer