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Attribution Control:

Learned Optimism

This is the fourth of several columns analyzing the Do You Think Like a Winner?: Competitors' Questionnaire for measuring the psychological dimension of your tennis game. This column analyzes your score for questions 19-24

by Jim McLennan, Senior Editor, TennisONE (Former President, USPTA, Northern California), and Carol Blackman

The Attribution Control section (19-24) of the Competitors' Questionnaire examines how well you take responsibility for what happens on the tennis court.

As your tennis match unfolds all things can and often do happen. Your normally reliable forehand goes awry. Your conditioning which has been tip top is stymied by a blister on your foot. Your opponent who couldn't buy a backhand in the first set has changed tactics and is chipping and charging effectively. The winner will observe these problems and work to find remedies. The loser, on the other hand, will observe these same events and wonder, "Why does this always happen to me?"

In life we are, at varying times, active and passive. When flying on an airplane I am passive. I sit back and let someone else do the driving. Given that I don't have a pilot's license, this is eminently sensible. When driving my car I am active. I am in control, and to drive safely, I must be actively involved in the entire process. Now let's say there is a slight accident in the parking lot. An active assessment would be, "I ran into the guy's back bumper." In this attribution I have accepted responsibility. An alternative would be to say, "Darn it, the accident just happened." In this scenario I may have still had all the responsibility but I attributed it elsewhere. Actually, I attributed it to the accident itself by saying that the accident "just happened." Well, in most instances, and certainly on the tennis court, things don't just happen but rather you have made them happen. Taking responsibility for your winning and losing, taking responsibility for creating your predicament or for creating your opportunity to win, it all lies in thinking actively and never passively.

Now as you review your attributions in the Competitors' Questionnaire, we are measuring your ability to accept responsibility for the exact circumstances of the match. Further, we are measuring your ability to seek solutions for your problems rather than just documenting your failures. An example of documenting your failures would be, an often heard exclamation, "How many times can you miss that shot dummy!" Unfortunately, there is no solution implied in this comment, and this attribution will in no way lead to improvement. An alternative would be, "Shorten your backswing on his big serves, you dummy." Still not the most positive language, but in this case there is a remedy proposed along with the self-abuse.

A final element in improving a player's optimism is to shift from outcome to performance goals. An outcome goal is, "My goal today is to win this match." Unfortunately, you can play the best game of your life and if your opponent is better, you will still lose. A performance goal is, "My goal today is to serve consistently and play aggressively on the big points." In this case, at the end of the match you only judge whether this goal was met. Of course when you serve consistently and play the big points aggressively, you will probably win. But your evaluation of your match only concerns your performance, not the match outcome.

Obviously winning is more fun than losing. And when I am performing well I do enjoy winning-and I expect to win. But one of the biggest steps in tennis is understanding that winning is not entirely in your hands but performance is. Re-read the attribution questions with an eye for the "performance goal" and then select your favorite affirmation from that group, and make that your favorite phrase to repeat during crunch time in a match.

Prior to most matches I expect to play well
I focus on remedies rather than causes when losing
I expect to become a better tennis player
I feel there are no limits to what I can learn
I am challenged by new skills and situations
I can cope with difficult strategic situations

My personal favorite is the second phrase - I focus on remedies when losing, which is the corollary to the stratagem, "Always Change a Losing Game."

Watch for What's New on TennisONE for future columns on the Competitors' Questionnaire.

Copyright 1993 "Competitors' Questionnaire," by Jim McLennan and Carol Blackman. All rights reserved 1993.

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