Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Kelley’s (1973) covariation theory is an attribution-based model that was developed under the assumption that more accurate attributions are established as more information is gained over time (Kelley & Michela, 1980). Research shows that people seek out informational cues to form attributions and that the relationship between attribution types and athletic coaching behaviors significantly impacts athlete satisfaction (Heider, 1958; Manusov & Spitzberg, 2008; Kao & Tsai, 2016; Nazarudin et al., 2009; Pilus & Saadan, 2009). Given these findings, it was hypothesized that the attributions formed by participants in each of the five scenarios found in Kelley’s (1973) covariation theory will follow predictions from the model. Furthermore, it was expected that participants will experience dissatisfaction when they perceive the coach’s behavior as a results of the coach’s internal characteristics. Additionally, it was expected that these same undesirable coaching behaviors will not influence participant satisfaction when they are perceived to derive from external factors that are outside the coach’s control. Lastly, Scenarios 4 and 5 were examined via a pair of research questions targeting what levels of satisfaction results within each scenario. 158 participants college students were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 coaching behavior scenarios consistent with Kelley’s (1973) model and asked to report their perceived attribution as well as their satisfaction with Coach Jamie. The findings were consistent with Kelley’s (1973) model in Scenario 5, but not in the other 4 scenarios. The results also indicate that attributing the negative behavior to internal characteristics more likely leads to lower rates of satisfaction, while external attributions were more likely to coincide with higher reports of satisfaction.

Year manuscript completed

2023

Year degree awarded

2023

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Committee Chair

Daniel Wann

Committee Member

Jana Hackathorn

Committee Member

Esther Malm

Committee Member

Mardis Dunham

Document Type

Thesis - Murray State Access only

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