The potential differing effects of causal attributions on both stress and coping in response to failing an exam were investigated. A 59 item questionnaire was distributed to 99 male and 90 female students from Canterbury University. The findings show that, as expected, external, stable, and uncontrollable attributions related positively to the self-reported stress level and negatively to the likelihood of seeking social support. In addition, the causal attribution stability moderated the relationship between total stress and seeking social support. Overall, coping was a better predictor of the stress level than the causal attributions. There were also some surprising gender effects. Females believed to more of a greater extent than males that they: 1) would experience more stress; 2) were more likely to seek social support; and 3) would utilise more of a problem-focused strategy. The results are discussed in relation to the importance of the contextual model - the interaction between the situation and the person as an overall determinant of the likely coping strategies and causal ascriptions called forth, notwithstanding that the interaction is extremely influenced by one's cognitive appraisals.