Causal attribution of success in sports activities among school children involved in taekwondo

Statement of the problem. The article defines the value of causal attribution as a cognitive aspect of motivation and the most important determinant of the orientation of the world perception. The article describes the characteristics of the optimistic and pessimistic style of attribution. The features of causal attribution in situations of shared responsibility remain little explored to date. In the process of socialization, they play an important formative role. The experience of such situations at school age is associated not only with educational activities, but with inclusion in sports activities for many schoolchildren. The purpose of the article is to analyze the results of a study of the characteristics of causal attribution of successes and failures in situations of training, communication with a coach and competition among schoolchildren involved in taekwondo. The research methodology was the analysis of the problem of causal attribution in situations of shared responsibility on the basis of scientific sources and the results of an empirical study of the causal attribution of the success in sports activity among schoolchildren. The study involved schoolchildren engaged in taekwondo (N = 44) aged from 9 to 12. We looked at how novice athletes evaluate their own contribution, the coach’s contribution to the causal bases of a positive or negative result, and the likelihood of their recurrence in the future. A questionnaire with rating scales was used as a method for obtaining empirical data. Mathematical processing included descriptive statistics and correlation analysis using Spearman’s coefficient. The research results showed that novice athletes estimate their contribution to the success of the training process and performance at the competition as a significant contribution, to a lesser extent considering themselves responsible for the productivity of communication with the coach. Girls value their responsibility for the outcome of various situations higher than boys. The respondents assessed the contribution of the coach to the success in the competition and the formation of mutual “coach-athlete” understanding as significant. The results of the correlation analysis made it possible to conclude that in the structure of the interconnection of the characteristics of causal attribution, the assessment of the influence of both contributions (one’s own and that of a coach) on mutual understanding in communication is systemic. Conclusion. Causal attribution of situations in sports activity among novice combatants is optimistic in general, while the confidence of a young athlete in his own abilities to influence competitive success is related to how highly he or she evaluates his/her own contribution and the contribution of a coach to the quality of their mutual understanding.