04.10.07

To what do you attribute your success?

Posted in Baseball, Children at 8:07 am by Valentine

Curt Schilling threw a real stinker on Opening Day. By the time he hit the showers, the lowly Royals had tagged him for eight hits and five runs in a mere four innings of work!

Some quotes from Curt’s blog entry: http://38pitches.com/2007/04/02/game-1-4207-kc/

• “Can’t remember a game where I couldn’t make adjustments but today was certainly one of those.”
• “Walking off the mound I knew my FB command was crap, and that I’d need to get it right fast.”
• “I had more than ample chances to make this a game, and never did. Inconsistent command and horrific execution cost us the game.”

Put simply, Schilling knew the game stank and accepted full personal responsibility for creating the stench. Contrast this to the following assessment by a BOSOX list contributor:

• [Schilling] struggled more with his luck than with his control. According to a “quick-n-dirty DIPS“, Schilling’s line of 22 BFP, 0 HR, 2 BB, 5 SO gives an expected ERA of 2.65, as opposed to his actual ERA of 11.25. Eight out of 15 balls in play fell in for hits. Not too much Schilling could do about that.

Schilling attributed his failure to “command” and “execution”, INTERNAL causes over which he presumably has some influence. The latter quote dismisses it as “luck”, an EXTERNAL cause that is entirely out of his control. Now I’m not here to argue one side or the other — both are plausible viewpoints that likely contributed to the result. Rather, I see this as a perfect example to illustrate a more fundamental principle: internal attribution leads to growth and creates success. (Read here for a chapter summarizing some of the research in this area.)

Consider a student who earns a disappointing grade on a test. There are so many possible reasons for failure!

• “The test was too hard.”
• “The teacher didn’t explain it well.”
• “I’m not smart at math.”
• “I didn’t adequately prepare.”

The usual answer is “all of the above”. If the test is sufficiently easy, even a poorly prepared student will score well. If the teacher hits on the perfect explanation for a topic, the students will “get it” despite poor efforts. And of course some students learn more easily than others! But the only attribution that matters is the last one. Are the tests too hard? Keep working until you have completely mastered the material. Teacher isn’t explaining it clearly? Find a tutor. Or talk to a friend. Or go after school (even with the same teacher, you might find the explanation clearer in a one-on-one session). Or teach yourself from the book! Not smart at math? Then work twice as hard and twice as long as anybody else. Might not get you an “A”, but exceptional effort will usually (eventually) produce “B” work even in an “honors” class.

Not only does internal attribution encourage greater effort, but intrinsic motivations tend to produce results that are both superior and longer-lasting than extrinsic stimuli. Do you reward a child for good behavior with a treat? He learns that the reason for good behavior is to receive the treat. No more treats? No more good behavior. Instead, praise him for being a “good person” and the good behavior will flow naturally.

In the same vein, I worry about the pseudo-Christian viewpoint that the rationale for good behavior is to attain heaven and avoid hell. While this might be a more “durable” motivator than a candy treat (both because of the magnitude of the reward/punishment and because God sees all), it doesn’t strike me as an attitude that supports personal growth. Neither, IMHO, does it fully reflect the teachings of Christ. Ultimately a good heart is its own reward.

So, was Curt Schilling’s terrible start on Opening Day a personal failure? Or due to factors outside his control? Does he fear that it will cost him future financial gain? Or is he angry at himself because he didn’t give it his best? Curt is speaking the language of success when he writes:

“I could care less if any of my kids become ‘pro’s’, I just want them to have a passion for whatever it is they do, and be as good as they can be, trying to be the best.”

Isn’t that what we all should aim for?

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