Dimensions of causality as a function of socioeconomic status in a sample of Portuguese adolescents

Abstract

This study explored dimensions of locus of causality, stability, and controllability, of several sources for success and failure, classified by subjects as a function of their socioeconomic status. The sample included 1,320 Portuguese high school students, from high, middle, and low socioeconomic status who classified 17 causes for success and failure according to their meaning on the three dimensions. Analysis showed students from families of low socioeconomic status perceived causes related to ability, effort, and motivation as more unstable than subjects from families of middle and high socioeconomic status, and students from families of high socioeconomic status perceived causes related to ability as more internal than the other two groups.