Failure as an Obstacle or a Support: The Failure Beliefs Scale Development Study

Year 2024, , 241 - 258, 29.06.2024

Sabire Kılıç , Galip Yüksel

https://doi.org/10.17066/tpdrd.1342724_8

Abstract

This scale development study aims to measure the failure beliefs of adults in Turkish culture by addressing the concept of failure based on Carol Dweck's implicit theories. In the study, the stages of the scale development process were followed with a mixed method approach. Firstly, qualitative data was gathered through literature review and focus groups and later the scale was tested by conducting exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on quantitative data gained from totally 887 adults. As a result of the analyses, the Failure Beliefs Scale was developed consisting of a total of eight items and two factors, one of which measures the beliefs that failure is debilitating, and the other factor measures the beliefs that failure is enhancing. The measurement invariance of the scale across gender was examined and to ensure the reliability of the scale, internal consistency and stability coefficients were calculated. The scale was found to be a valid and reliable measurement tool for measuring adults' failure beliefs. The use of the scale in studies related to failure in different fields such as education and work will contribute to future studies in Türkiye.

Keywords

Failure Beliefs, Implicit Theory, Scale Development.

References

• Anderson, C. A. (1995). Implicit theories in broad perspective. Psychological Inquiry, 6(4), 286–290. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1448941
• Atkinson, J. W. (1957). Motivational determinants of risk-taking behavior. Psychological Review, 64(1), 359–372. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043445
• Berger, S., & Freud, A. M. (2012). Fear of failure, disorganization, and subjective well-being in the context of preparing for an exam. Swiss Journal of Psychology, 71(2), 83–91. https://doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185/a000074.
• Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78(1), 246-263. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14678624.2007.00995.x
• Cannon, M. D., & Edmondson, A. C. (2001). Confronting failure: Antecedents and consequences of shared beliefs about failure in organizational work groups. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(2), 161–177. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.85.
• Caraway K., Tucker C. M., Reinke W. M.& Hall C. (2003). Self-efficacy, goal orientation, and fear of failure as predictors of school engagement in high school students. Psychology in the Schools, 40(1), 417–427. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.10092
• Cattell, R. B. (1966). The screen test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1(2), 245–276. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr0102_10
• Chiu, C.Y., Hong, Y.Y. & Dweck, C.S. (1997). Lay dispositionism and implicit theories of personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(1), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1037/00223514.73.1.19
• Choi, I., & Nisbett. R. E. (2000). Cultural psychology of surprise: Holistic theories and recognition of contradiction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 890–905. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.79.6.890
• Conroy, D. E., & Elliot, A. J. (2004). Fear of failure and achievement goals in sport: Addressing the issue of the chicken and the egg. Anxiety Stress and Coping, 17(3), 271–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800412336427
• Conroy, D.E., (2001). Progress in the development of a multidimensional measure of fear of failure: The performance failure appraisal inventory (PFAI). Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 14(1), 431-452. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800108248365
• Conroy, D.E., Willow, J.P., & Metzler, J.N. (2002). Multidimensional measurement of fear of failure: The Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI). Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 14, 431-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200252907752
• Creswell, J. W. & Plano Clark. V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. (3. Ed.) Sage
• Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Pearson.
• Creswell., J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquary and research design: Choosing among five approaches. (2 Ed.). Sage.
• Creswell., J. W. (2017). Araştırma deseni: Nitel, nicel ve karma yöntem yaklaşımları. (S. B. Demir, Trans. Edt.). Eğiten Kitap.
• Crocker, J., Brook, A. T., Niiya, Y., & Villacorta, M. (2006). The pursuit of self-esteem: Contingencies of self-worth and self-regulation. Journal of Personality, 74(6), 1749–1772. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00427 .x.
• Crum, A. J., Salovey, P., & Achor, S. (2013). Rethinking stress: The role of mindsets in determining the stress response. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(4), 716. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0031201
• De Castella, K., & Byrne, D. (2015). My intelligence may be more malleable than yours: the revised implicit theories of intelligence (self-theory) scale is a better predictor of achievement, motivation, and student disengagement. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 30(3), 245–267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-015-0244-y
• De Castella, K., Byrne, D., & Covington, M. (2013). Unmotivated or motivated to fail: A cross-cultural study of achievement motivation, fear of failure, and student disengagement. Journal of Educational Psychology,105(3), 861–880. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032 464.
• DeVellis, R. F. (2017). Scale development: Theory and applications (27.Eds.). Sage.
• Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(1), 1087–1101. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087
• Dupeyrat, C., & Mariné, C. (2005). Implicit theories of intelligence, goal orientation, cognitive engagement, and achievement: A test of Dweck’s model with returning to school adults. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30(1), 43–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2004.01.007
• Dweck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41(10), 1040-1048. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0003-066X.41.10.1040
• Dweck, C. S. (1999). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Psychology Press.
• Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.
• Dweck, C. S. (2008). Can personality be changed? The role of beliefs in personality and change. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 391–394. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00612.x
• Dweck, C. S., & Master, A. (2009). Self-theories and motivation: Students’ beliefs about intelligence. In K.R. Wentzel and A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 123-140). Routledge.
• Dweck, C. S., Chiu, C., & Hong, Y. (1995). Implicit theories and their role in judgments and reactions: a world from two perspectives. Psychological lnquiry, 6(4), 267-285. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1448940
• Dweck, C.S. & Leggett, E.L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95(2), 256-273. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033295X.95.2.256
• Dweck, C.S. & Master, A. (2008). Self-theories Motivate Self-Regulated Learning. In D. Schunk & B. Zimmerman (Eds). Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning: Theory, Research, and Applications (pp. 31-51). Erlbaum.
• Dweck, C.S. & Molden, D. (2006). Self-theories: their impact on competence motivation and acquisition. In A. Eliot and C. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 122-140). The Guilford Press.
• Elliot, A. J. (1999). Approach and avoidance motivation and achievement goals. Educational Psychologist, 34(3), 169-189. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3403_3
• Elliot, A. J., & Covington, M. V. (2001). Approach and avoidance motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 13(1), 73–92. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009009018235
• Elliot, A. J., & Thrash, T. M. (2002). Approach-avoidance motivation in personality: approach and avoidance temperaments and goals. Journal Of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(5), 804-818. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.82.5.804
• Elliot, A.J., & Thrash, T.M. (2004). The intergenerational transmission of fear of failure. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30(1), 957-971. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203262024
• Elliott, E. S., & Dweck, C. S. (1988). Goals: an approach to motivation and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(1), 5-12. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.1.5
• Erkuş, A. (2011). Davranış bilimleri için bilimsel araştırma süreci. Seçkin.
• Erkuş, A. (2012). Psikolojide ölçme ve ölçek geliştirme.  Pegem.
• Güneş, Ö. (2022). Failure attributions and metacognitive awareness of EFL learners. Language Awareness, 31(1), 53-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2021.1960538
• Güneş, Ö. (2022). Failure attributions and metacognitive awareness of EFL learners, Language Awareness, 31(1), 53-72, https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2021.1960538
• Haimovitz, K., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). What predicts children’s fixed and growth intelligence mindsets? Not their parents’ views of intelligence but their parents’ views of failure. Psychological Science, 27(1), 859–869. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616639727cle2017.
• Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2014). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage Publications.
• Hayes, A. F., & Coutts, J. J. (2020). Use omega rather than Cronbach's alpha for estimating reliability. But... Communication Methods and Measures, 14(1) 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2020.1718629
• Hayton, J. C., Allen, D. G & Scarpello, V. (2004). Factor retention decisions in exploratory factor analysis: A tutorial on parallel analysis. Organizational Research Methods, 7(2), 191-205. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428104263675
• Hong, Y. Y., Chiu, C. Y., Dweck, C. S., Lin, D. M. S., & Wan, W. (1999). Implicit theories, attributions, and coping: A meaning system approach. Journal of Personality and Social psychology, 77(3), 588-599. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.3.588
• Horn, J. L. (1965). A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis. Psychometrica, 30(2), 179-185. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02289447
• Ikeda, M., & Misawa, R. (2012). Conceptualization and measurement of beliefs about failure. Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 60(4), 367–379. https://doi.org/10.5926/jjep.60.367.
• Ji, L.-J., Peng, K., & Nisbett, R. E. (2000). Culture, control, and perception of relationships in the environment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(5), 943–955. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.5.943
• Kahraman, N., & Sungur, S. (2016). Adaptation of the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI) into Turkish. Journal of Kirsehir Education Faculty, 17(3), 223-239. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2021.1901299
• Kaiser, H. F. (1960). The application of electronic computers to factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20(1), 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316446002000116
• Kelley T. L. (1939). The selection of upper and lower groups for the validation of test items. Journal of Educational Psychology, 30(1), 17-24. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/h0057123
• Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. (4th Ed.) Guilford.
• Lee, K. (1996). A study of teacher responses based on their conceptions of intelligence. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 31(2), 1-12. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/23870415
• Lüftenegger, M., & Chen, J. A. (2017). Conceptual issues and assessment of implicit theories. Zeitschrift fur Psychologie, 225(2), 99-106. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000286
• MacCallum, R. C., Zhang, S., Preacher, K. J., & Rucker, D. D. (2002). On the practice of dichotomization of quantitative variables. Psychological Methods, 7(1), 19–40. https://doi.org/10.1037//1082-989X.7.1.19
• Marcoulides G., Schumacher R. (2001). New developments and techniques in structural equation modeling. Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Martignoni, D., & Keil, T. (2021). It did not work? Unlearn and try again—Unlearning success and failure beliefs in changing environments. Strategic Management Journal, 42(6), 1057-1082. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.v42.610.1002/smj.3261
• Martin, A. J. & Marsh, H. W. (2003) Fear of failure: Friend or foe?, Australian Psychologist, 38(1), 31-38, https://doi.org/10.1080/00050060310001706997
• Martin, A. J. (2002). Motivation and academic resilience: Developing a model of student enhancement. Australian Journal of Education, 46(1), 34-49.
• McClelland, D. C. (1965). Toward a theory of motive acquisition. American Psychologist, 20(1), 321–333. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0022225
• Neff, K. D., Hsieh, Y.-P., & Dejitterat, K. (2005). Self-compassion, achievement goals, and coping with academic failure. Self and Identity, 4(3), 263–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/13576500444000317
• Nisbett, R. E., Peng, K., Choi, I., & Norenzayan, A. (2001). Culture and systems of thought: Holistic versus analytic cognition. Psychological Review, 108(2), 291–310. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-295X.108.2.291
• Nishimura, T., Seo, M., Uesaka, Y., Manalo, E., Tanaka, E., & Ichikawa, S. (2017). Development of a scale about failure beliefs in academic activities. Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 65(2), 197–210. https://doi.org/10.5926/jjep.65.197 .
• O’Connor, B. P. (2000). SPSS and SAS programs for determining the number of components using paralel analysis and Velicer’s MAP test. Behavior Research Methods, Instrumentsand Computers, 32(3), 396-402. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200807
• Osborne, J. W. (2015). What is rotating in exploratory factor analysis?. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 20(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.7275/hb2g-m060
• Putnick, D. L., & Bornstein, M. H. (2016). Measurement invariance conventions and reporting: The state of the art and future directions for psychological research. Developmental Review, 41(2016), 71-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2016.06.004
• Robins, R. W. & Pals, J. L. (2002). Implicit Self-Theories in the academic domain: implications for goal orientation, attributions, affect and self-esteem change. Self and Identity, 1(4), 313-336. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860290106805
• Robinson, J. P., Shaver, P. R. ve Wrightsman, L. S. (1991). Criteria for scale selection and evaluation, in measures of personality and social psychological attitude. Academic Press.
• Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23-74.
• Schumacher, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (2010). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). Routledge.
• Spinath, B., Spinath, F. M., Riemann, R., & Angleitner, A. (2003). Implicit theories about personality and intelligence and their relationship to actual personality and intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 35(4), 939-951. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0191-8869(02)00310-
• Sucuoglu, H. (2014). Construct validity of success/failure attribution scale among Turkish university students. Educational Research and Reviews, 9(11), 326-339. https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2014.1768
• Sucuoglu, H. (2014). Construct validity of success/failure attribution scale among Turkish university students. Educational Research and Reviews, 9(11), 326-339. https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2014.1768
• Tabachnick, B. G. ve Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics. Allyn and Bacon.
• Tavşancıl, E. (2005). Tutumların ölçülmesi ve SPSS ile veri analizi. (2. baskı) Nobel.
• Tempelaar, D. T., Rienties, B., Giesbers, B., & Gijselaers, W. H. (2014). The Pivotal role of effort beliefs in mediating implicit theories of intelligence and achievement goals and academic motivations. Social Psychology of Education, 18(1), 101-120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-014-9281-7
• Todd, F. L. (2017). Evidence regarding the internal structure: Confirmatory factor analysis. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 50(4), 239-247, https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.2017.1336929
• Weiner, B. (1972). Theories of motivation: From mechanisms to cognition. Markham.
• Weiner, B. (2010). The development of an attribution-based theory of motivation: A history of ideas, Educational Psychologist, 45(1), 28-36, https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520903433596
• Worthington R. L., Whittaker T. A. (2006). Scale development research: A content analysis and recommendations for best practices. The Counseling Psychologist, 34(1), 806 – 838. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000006288127
• Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindsets that promote resilience: When students believe that personal characteristics can be developed. Educational Psychologist, 47(4), 302-314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2012.722805