| The purpose of this study was to determine if attribution theory can explain helping behavior in an interdependent classroom environment that utilized a cooperative learning model. The study focused on student participants enrolled in six community college communication classes taught by the same instructor. Three levels of cooperative learning were employed.; Survey data for this study were collected from the students enrolled in the six communication classes. Participants were presented with situations describing a group member who was not participating in the cooperative learning process. Simulated scenarios, as well as "actual" experiences, were included for the purpose of analysis. According to attribution theory, the feelings and potential helping behavior of the participants should depend on the cause of the non-participation. The success of a cooperative learning experience depends to a high degree on students' willingness to help and support each other.; Participant's emotional and behavioral responses were analyzed, using independent-samples t tests, paired-samples t tests, and analysis of variance. The findings led to the following conclusions: First, attribution theory appeared to explain helping behavior in the simulated scenarios. Second, controllable causes for non-participation elicited negative feelings from participants, prompting a reluctance to help. Uncontrollable causes for non-participation were received more positively by participants, encouraging a willingness to help. Third, differences in the emotional and behavioral responses of participants who actually experienced a non-participating group member in their current class did not significantly vary as a function of causal controllability. Fourth, emotional and behavioral responses did not vary by age, gender, ethnicity, or level of cooperative learning employed in the class. Fifth, participants with three or more prior cooperative learning classes were less willing to help a group member who failed to participate due to a controllable cause than participants with less than three similar classes. Overall results support attribution theory as a useful conceptual framework for explaining student responses regarding helping behavior in simulated situations. However, student experiences in "actual" situations pose additional questions regarding the application of theory to practice, promoting the need for further investigation. |
