Abstract des Autors

By applying Weiner's motivational theory, gender differences in attribution patterns of failures were studied in 60 boys and 25 girls engaged in an endurance sport (rowing). The psychophysiological costs of failures in competition conditions proved to be higher in girls, which showed in their decreased emotional balance, and higher competition anxiety, emotional reactivity and perseverance. Regarding attribution patterns, both boys and girls make responsible themselves, i.e. their internal disposition, for the majority of their failures in sports. However, girls attribute their failures to insufficient effort made (internal, unstable, controllable factor) more frequently than do boys. Thus, according to Weiner's theory, in a typically masculine sport girls apply a more advantageous pattern than boys. This may be due to their belief that when performing strength-endurance tasks they are to rely more on their effort than abilities, the latter ones being actually lower than those in boys. Verf.-Referat