Expectancies and attributions for hyperactive and medicated hyperactive students

The present study seeks to document some social consequences of prescribing stimulant medication to a hyperactive child. Eighty students and 15 teachers provided expectancies and attributions for the academic performance of hypothetical medicated and nonmedicated hyperactive children. Both teachers and peers were found to have higher expectancies for the medicated than for the nonmedicated child. Data suggest that these differential expectancies may arise from different explanations for success. The success of the medicated child was attributed to a stable factor (medication), while the nonmedicated child's success was seen as due to an unstable cause (effort). Implications of these differential expectancies and attributions for the academic performance of medicated and nonmedicated hyperactive students are discussed.