“…Such a discrepancy between theory and research seems unwarranted and unwise. Second, while effort (in contrast to ability) attributions for failure have been found t o produce favourable performance results on the part of the actor, effort attributions for failure elicit unfavourable responses (e.g., lower grades) on the part of the observer or evaluator (Weiner and Kukla, 1970;Rest et al, 1973). Third, while high effort on the part of students may help minimize teacher punishment in the event of failure (Weiner and Kukla, 1970;Covington and Omelich, 1979), it also poses a substantial threat to self-concept on the part of the performer.…”