Figure 13.5: Effect of attribution compared with persuasion (a) Fifth graders who were repeatedly told that they were neat and tidy (attribution condition) showed greater gain in use of the wastebasket than did those in the other conditions. (b) Second graders who were repeatedly told that they were good at math (attribution condition) showed greater improvement in math scores than did those in the other conditions. The delayed posttests were conducted several weeks after the pretests.
(Based on data from Miller, Brickman, & Bolen, 1975.)