Person memory and causal attributions.

Three experiments with 273 college students were conducted to reconcile the apparent contradiction between the well-established finding that initial impressions are resistant to incongruent (ICG) information and the finding that information ICG with an impression is particularly likely to be recalled. Using a procedure similar to that of R. Hastie and P. A. Kumar (1979), a situational or dispositional attribution was provided for a target item, which was either congruent (CG) or ICG with an initial impression. The ICG item was more likely than the CG item to be recalled only when attributed to dispositional causes (Exp I). The congruence of the target had greater impact on impressions when attributed to dispositional causes, particularly when Ss were given little other information about the target (Exps I and II). Exp III revealed that Ss preferred situational attributions for ICG items and dispositional attributions for CG. The authors conclude that Hastie and Kumar's findings may be limited to conditions in which situational attributions for TCG information are not provided. Possible mediators of the effects of causal attributions on recall, and the relation between recall and impressions are discussed. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A reexamination of developmental changes in causal attributions.

Examined young children's use of the presence or absence of extrinsic reward to make inferences about the intrinsic motivation of another person. Previous research indicates that most kindergartners do not use a discounting heuristic, but it was hypothesized that these children may have misinterpreted the questions asked. 19 boys and 19 girls from kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grade were presented stories about children who were rewarded or not rewarded for performing various activities. Two forms of questioning about motivation were compared. When a traditional form was used, kindergartners did not show evidence of a discounting heuristic. When the questions were adjusted to ask more specifically about intrinsic motivation, Ss at all grade levels appeared to use a discounting heuristic. Results are discussed in terms of the parameters of the attributional effects, the possible mechanisms responsible for the phenomena, and the significance of the findings for other developmental research using self-report techniques. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring causal attributions for success and failure: A comparison of methodologies for assessing causal dimensions.

This study evaluated the reliability and validity of three commonly used procedures for assessing the dimensional properties of causal attributions for success and failure. These methods of assessment were based on open-ended attributions for performance, importance ratings of different causes of success and failure, and the attributor's perception of his or her causal attribution for performance as assessed by the Causal Dimension Scale. Data were collected on causal attributions, expected and actual performance, subjective evaluations of performance, and affective reactions from a group of students before and after their midterm examination. Analyses were conducted to evaluate the reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and construct validity of the attribution measures. The results generally supported the use of the Causal Dimension Scale over the other methods of assessing causal dimensions. Implications of these findings for attribution research and possible improvements in the Causal Dimension Scale are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time perspective and causal attributions for achievement.

Investigated the relation between adolescents' time perspective and attributions for achievement by administering measures of time perspective (continuity, optimism, pessimism, and utilization) and attributions (ability, effort, context, and luck) independently assessed for success and failure to 215 10th graders. A canonical analysis extracted 1 significant canonical root that related the 2 sets of measured variables and indicated that the 2 variates shared 25% of their variance. Interpretation of the structural relation between time perspective and attributions suggests that a more adaptive time perspective relates to (a) attributing achievement success to one's own effort and ability and not to the characteristics of the task or luck and (b) minimizing the attributional role of luck, lack of ability, and task characteristics for achievement failure while acknowledging the role of lack of effort. Implications for motivation enhancement programs are discussed. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational biases in causal attributions of arousal.

Two studies hypothesized that the desire to seek ambiguity as to the cause of a particular state of arousal will increase if either that arousal state or its source is potentially threatening to self-esteem. In Exp I, 22 high- and 21 low-sex-guilt male undergraduates (as determined by the Mosher Forced Choice Sex Guilt Inventory) were shown either an arousing erotic movie or a nonarousing movie; in Exp II, 28 high- and 28 low-guilt females were led to believe that they were very aroused by pictures of nude men. Ambiguity was introduced into both situations by means of a bogus, nonthreatening, alternative arousal source (a placebo). Results indicate that high-guilt Ss were actively involved in the process of determining which source was arousing them. More importantly, this involvement appeared to be motivated by ego-defensiveness. In both experiments, when high-guilt Ss were confronted by an erotic stimulus, they chose to attribute arousal to the bogus source—and thus create ambiguity as to the actual cause and nature of their arousal—more than did low-guilt Ss. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's causal attributions for success and failure in achievement settings: A meta-analysis.

Conducted a meta-analysis of 25 studies (1972–1981 [appended]) on children's attributions for success and failure to test the adequacy of the egotistic bias hypothesis (that attributions are more internal for success and more external for failure) for children in Grades 1–7. Variations in the wording of attributional questions and the research context were also included as factors in the meta-analysis. Results provide support for the egotism hypothesis and indicate that both question wording and research context are important determinants of children's attributions. In general, the egotism effect was supported more for informational than for the more traditional causal wording of the attribution questions. No effects were found for grade level. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and causal attributions for success and failure.

Investigated the effects of depression on causal attributions for success and failure. From a pool of 340 female university students, 60 were separated into depressed and nondepressed groups on the basis of Costello-Comrey Depression Scale scores, and then received either 20, 55, or 80% reinforcement on a word association task. Following the task, attributions were made for outcome using the 4 factors of effort, ability, task difficulty, and luck. In accord with predictions generated from a self-serving biases hypothesis, nondepressives made internal (ability, effort) attributions for a successful outcome (80% reinforcement) and external attributions (luck, task difficulty) for a failure outcome (20% reinforcement). As predicted from consideration of the self-blame component of depression, the attributions made by depressives for a failure outcome were personal or internal. Contrary to expectations, depressives also made internal attributions for a successful outcome. The findings for depressives are discussed in relation to the recently revised learned helplessness model of depression, which incorporates causal attributions. For nondepressives, the findings are considered in terms of the self-serving biases hypothesis. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are causal attributions causal? A path analysis of the cognitive model of achievement motivation.

Tested the causal assumptions of B. Weiner's (1972, 1974, 1977) cognitive reinterpretation of the traditional theory of achievement motivation. Ss were 206 college students varying in resultant achievement motivation who experienced feelings of failure in a course test and chose to take the exam a second time under a mastery learning system. After feedback on first test performance, Ss made attributions for their initial failure, indicated degree of shame, and rated their expectancy for success on the second test opportunity. Treatment of this system of nonmanipulated variables by path analysis techniques provided little support for the contention that variations in expectancy and retest performance depend on attributions made for a previous failure. Affect depends in part on internal attributions, but in a direction opposite to predictions. An alternative interpretation of the role of cognitive attributions in the achievement process is explored. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Persistence and the causal perception of failure: Modifying cognitive attributions.

In a 2-phase study with a total of 159 6th graders, the relation of persistence behavior to the causal perception of failure was examined. Ss were administered a battery of tests, including the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Scale, a modified version of the Perceptual Reasoning Test, and a circle design task. Results of Phase 1 show that temporal persistence and resistance to extinction were positively related to the attribution of failure to insufficient effort and negatively related to attributions to ability and task difficulty by both males and females. In Phase 2, the males who least frequently attributed failure to lack of effort (42 Ss) were randomly allocated to a control group or a social reinforcement group or a token plus social reinforcement attribution retraining group. At immediate and delayed posttests, experimental Ss attributed success and failure on the training task and 2 independent transfer tasks to effort significantly more than did controls. A significant increase from pretest levels on both persistence indexes paralleled the attributional change of experimental Ss. No difference was evident in the effectiveness of the 2 experimental treatments. Despite some attenuation on the transfer tasks, there was evidence of durability of training effects, and generalization of effects to an independent tester at a further 4-mo follow-up posttest. Results provide support for the attribution model of achievement motivation and provide an empirical foundation for the rationale of attribution retraining programs. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The causality of causal attributions in depression: A cross-lagged panel correlational analysis.

The attributional reformulation of the learned helplessness model of depression proposes that causal attributions about negative outcomes play a causal role in reactive depression. This research tested this hypothesis by studying the causal role of attributions in depression in 180 college students. On 2 occasions separated by 1 mo, Ss were administered a battery of tests that included an attributional style questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory. The attributional dimensions of internality, stability, and globality were correlated with depression; when the possible causal role of attributions was tested through the use of cross-lagged panel correlational analysis, the hypothesis that stability and globality attributions for bad outcomes might be causes of depression was supported. There was no support, however, for the hypothesis that internal attributions for bad outcomes are a cause of depression. Evidence was also found that unstable attributions for good outcomes may function as a cause of depression. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of self-concept on children's causal attributions and self-reinforcement.

Studied self-concept as a dispositional variable influencing children's cognitive-attributional and affective-self reinforcing reactions to achievement outcomes. 64 6th-graders classified as high or low in self-concept on an abbreviated version of the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale were given an achievement task on which they succeeded or failed. A preinstructional set was used to allow Ss to interpret their performance as being determined by skill or luck. More high than low self-concept children attributed their success to the skill cue. High self-concept Ss also engaged in more self-reward for success. Both self-concept groups used lack of skill to account for their failure, but the low group responded with more self-punishment. Results are discussed within an attributional model of achievement behavior. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure of freshmen's causal attributions for exam performance.

This article explores the structure underlying causal attribution for achievement in an actual academic context. Ss were 859 university freshmen drawn from 4 samples. First, they rated the influence of 10 possible causes on their exam performance. Procrustes factor analysis of the causes revealed 4 factors in each of the samples reflecting the dimensions of locus, stability, control, and globality. The fit of the factor solution with theoretical predictions was r?=?.73. Second, 209 Ss drawn from the same population assessed 10 causes for exam performance along the dimensions of locus, stability, and control. The theoretical fit of these direct judgments was also substantial, r?=?.75. The author concludes that the four dimensions of locus, stability, control, and globality reflect the major characteristics of causal attributions given for academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of memory perspective on retrospective causal attributions.

Examined whether people's retrospective causal attributions might be mediated by the visual perspective from which events are recalled. In Study 1, pairs of Ss participated in "get-acquainted" converstions and made a series of attribution ratings for their performance. They returned 3 weeks later to rerate their performance on the same attribution scales and to indicate the perspective from which they remembered their earlier conversation. Ss reported either "observer" memories in which they could "see" themselves from the outside or "field" memories in which their field of view matched that of the original situation. Study 2 was identical to Study 1 with the exception that Ss' memory perspectives were manipulated via verbal instructions. In both experiments, conversations that were recalled from an observer's perspective were attributed more dispositionally. Discussion of these results focuses on how they further understanding of the contradictory findings (e.g., B. S. Moore et al; see record 1981-01280-001) reported in the literature on temporal shifts in attributions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect on retaliation of causal attributions concerning attack.

In 2 studies, 108 male undergraduates were defeated on either 17%, 50%, or 83% of reaction time trials, received aversive noise, and could ostensibly retaliate by delivering shock to their partner. The noise level delivered was described in Exp I as typical of most other people (high consensus) or atypical of most other people (low consensus) and in Exp II as from a partner who knew (high foreseeability) or did not know (low foreseeability) the kind and level of stimulation controlled by the switches delivering reinforcement to the recipient. Hypotheses were based on the notion that retaliation increases as more personal causality is attributed to a provoker and that more personal causality is inferred in highly foreseeable—or low consensus—50% defeat conditions. As expected, greater differences in aggression between high and low consensus and between high and low foreseeability were displayed in the 50% defeat condition than in the other defeat conditions. Anticipated differences in inferences were obtained. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anticipated affective consequences of physical activity adoption and maintenance.

Objective: The expected emotional consequences of future actions are thought to play an important role in health behavior change. This research examined whether anticipated affective consequences of success and failure vary across stages of physical activity change and differentially predict physical activity adoption as compared to maintenance. Design: Using a prospective design over a 3-month period, a community sample of 329 healthy, middle-aged adults were assessed at 2 time points. Main Outcome Measures: Anticipated positive and negative emotions, stage of behavior change (precontemplation [PC], contemplation [C], preparation [P], action [A], maintenance [M]), and level of physical activity. Results: At baseline, anticipated positive emotions were greater in C versus PC, whereas anticipated negative emotions were greater in M versus A and in M versus P. Higher anticipated positive but not negative emotions predicted physical activity adoption and maintenance after 3 months. Conclusion: Although the expected affective consequences of future success and failure differentiated among individuals in the early and later stages of physical activity change, respectively; only the anticipated affective consequences of success predicted future behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attractiveness and corporate success: Different causal attributions for males and females.

113 working men and women were presented with the work history of an assistant vice president (AVP) of a midsized corporation who was either an attractive or unattractive male or female. Additionally, the AVP's rise to the senior ranks was depicted as either unusually rapid or normative in pace. Ss read the material and answered an attributional questionnaire. Results indicate that, as predicted, attractiveness had different effects on the degree to which the AVP's success was attributed to ability depending on whether the AVP was male or female: Males' ability attributions were enhanced and females' ability attributions were detrimentally affected by their good looks. Also as expected, capability judgments followed a similar pattern. Appearance was additionally shown to have different consequences for males and females when likeability and interpersonal integrity were rated. However, contrary to predictions, the rapidity of corporate ascent did not interact with appearance or sex in affecting attributions about or impressions of the stimulus AVPs. Conceptual and practical implications are discussed. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of causal attributions in dynamic self-regulation and goal processes.

A dynamic model of self-regulation and goal process was tested with student survey responses and exam scores over successive performance episodes. A model of goal processes related to performance within episodes was developed and supported in both instances. The locus and stability dimensions of causal attributions were examined as moderators of how self-regulation and goal processes develop over time in a between-episode model. Results of the between-episode model showed stability attributions as moderating goal achievement–self-efficacy change relations following both episodes, whereas the locus attributions moderated the goal achievement–satisfaction relationship only after the first exam. Findings were discussed in terms of the evolution of goal processes over time and the use of attributional framing interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and causal attributions: What is their relation?

Discusses the reformulated theory of learned helplessness (L. Y. Abramson et al; see record 1979-00305-001) and evaluates its success in accounting for task performance deficits. The reformulated learned helplessness theory of depression includes 2 primary models of the relation between attributions and depression, the onset model and the vulnerability model. Other models that can be identified include the recovery and coping models (consistent with learned helplessness theory) and the symptom model (inconsistent with the theory). It is concluded from a review of the evidence that there is support for the symptom, recovery, and coping models, but that tests of the onset and vulnerability hypotheses do not offer any confirmation of their validity. The evidence indicates that attributions, like other cognitions, are probably influenced by clinical states; attributions also have considerable predictive value and may be involved in the processes of recovery from and coping with depression. The implications of these findings and the research strategies needed to test the reformulated learned helplessness model are discussed. (62 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of causal attributions in counseling shy subjects.

Investigated effects of differing counselor causal attribution frameworks in an analog study designed to simulate the initial phases of counseling. 36 self-referred, shy Ss (24 males, 12 females 18–44 yrs old; university graduates, undergraduates, and staff) participated in 2 structured 50-min counseling sessions. Two attribution treatments (cognitive/behavioral and analytic) were used along with a counseling control treatment that did not convey a theoretical or causal framework. It was hypothesized that the 2 causal treatments, despite vastly differing views as to the locus and stability of the source of the S's problem, would not differ significantly in effectiveness and would both be superior to the control treatment. Selected outcome measures were conceptually related to attribution theory and were in the areas of expectancy, motivation, helpfulness, and utilization of counseling material. Significant results, favoring the attribution treatments, were found on 3 out of 4 of the expectancy and motivation measures and on 2 out of 3 of the helpfulness and utilization measures. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)