Back to Module Intro

Metacognitive Training

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  1. Introduction
    Identify your fire
  2. Choose your own adventure
  3. Self-Esteem & Stigma
    Introduction
  4. What are self-esteem and stigma?
  5. Self-esteem, stigma and substance use
  6. Activity 1- Communication tools
  7. Activity 2- Creating a positive self-concept
  8. Activity 3- Focusing on your strengths
  9. Summary
  10. Quiz
  11. Explaining Situations
    Introduction
  12. What are attributions?
  13. Attributional styles and substance use
  14. Activity 1- Balanced explanations Part 1
  15. Activity 2- Balanced explanations Part 2
  16. Activity 3- Practicing explanations
  17. Summary
  18. Quiz
  19. Worrying & Coping
    Introduction
  20. What is rumination?
  21. Worrying and substance use
  22. Activity 1- Observe your thoughts
  23. Activity 2- Postpone rumination
  24. Activity 3- Shift your attention
  25. Activity 4- Sensory grounding
  26. Activity 5- Relaxed breathing
  27. Summary
  28. Quiz
  29. Attention & thinking
    Introduction
  30. Terms are related to thinking and memory
  31. Attention and substance use
  32. Activity 1- Card games
  33. Activity 2
  34. Activity 3- Problem Solving
  35. Summary
  36. Quiz
  37. Relapse
    Introduction
  38. What is relapse?
  39. Cravings, triggers, and relapse
  40. Activity 1- Managing triggers
  41. Activity 2- Alternative strategies
  42. Activity 3- Emergency plan
  43. Activity 4- Learning from each relapse
  44. Summary
  45. Quiz
Metacognitive Training What are attributions?
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Lesson 12 of 45
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What are attributions?

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What are attributions?  

Attributions are your own explanations for why a certain situation, behaviour, thought or event a feeling happened (ie. who you blame for the situation). Here the focus will be on attributions given to situations.  

A one-sided attributional style is when the focus is on only one of many possible explanations. This is often a normal first reaction, and even for the same situation, different people may attribute different causes for why it happened. Your attributions can also change depending on your current mood. 

There are 3 different general attributions you can make for a given situation: 1) myself, 2) others, and 3) circumstance, often due to surroundings, situations or coincidences that you cannot control or are not relevant.  

For example, think of a situation where you don’t get a job you applied for. How could you explain why this happened?  

 It could be because … 

o   Myself: a) I am useless, people don’t like me. b) I did not have the required skills or experience. 

o   Others: a) The interviewer was in a bad mood, they didn’t like me from the second I arrived. b) My sister made me late. 

o  Circumstance (Surroundings or coincidence): a) If there hadn’t been all the noisy construction outside, I could have focused better during the interview. b) I had an extra cup of coffee that morning and it made me feel jittery and nervous.

Overall, you want to come up with an assessment of the situation that involves yourself, others, and the circumstance so that you are not putting all the blame on any one of these. Having an attributional style that is more balanced and doesn’t focus on any one cause is best.