Teachers' attributions of responsibility: Some unexpected nondefensive effects.

Studied attributional responses of 80 female undergraduates who taught a confederate (4th-grade boy) in a 3-way factorial design with 2 levels, respectively, of outcome (success or failure), importance of success (high or low), and feasibility of success (high or ambiguous). A postteaching questionnaire asking teachers to attribute responsibility and causality for the outcome and to evaluate and grade the student was analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. Unexpectedly, it was found that Ss attributed significantly more responsibility to themselves for student failure. Student ability was the attributed cause of success. In contrast, Ss evaluated the student and situation more negatively for failure. Results suggest a theoretical distinction between attributions of responsibility and causality and also that the defensive attribution construct may need revision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social perception of suicide: Effects of three factors on causal attributions.

Experimental results show that, among 76 female and 83 male undergraduates, the sex of the individual described as having engaged in suicidal behavior tended to produce a significant difference in the degree of inferred intentionality, with suicidal females being seen as having greater suicidal intentionality than males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explaining attributions for achievement: A path analytic approach.

A nonmotivational, expectancy-confirmation model of asymmetrical achievement attributions was compared to a theory of attributional egotism. Data permitting tests of the theories and comparisons between them were collected over an entire semester from students taking examinations in an undergraduate course. 469 students provided expectancies, bases for expectancies, and attributions for 3 examinations. It was found that Ss' expectancies were unrealistically high at the beginning of the course but became more accurate over time. Path analysis indicated that expected scores were based on prior performance and, increasingly throughout the semester, on expected effort. ANOVA revealed that Ss were generally egotistical in their outcome attributions, stressing internal factors following success and external ones following failure. Attributions were also influenced by the degree to which expectancies were confirmed if such expectancies were clearly based on the attribution factor in question. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decision making under stress: Scanning of alternatives under controllable and uncontrollable threats.

This study tested the proposition that deficient decision making under stress is due, to a significant extent, to the individual's failure to fulfill adequately an elementary requirement of the decision-making process, that is, the systematic consideration of all relevant alternatives. One hundred and one undergraduate students (59 women and 42 men), age 20–40, served as subjects in this experiment. They were requested to solve decision problems, using an interactive computer paradigm, while being exposed to controllable stress, uncontrollable stress, or no stress at all. There was no time constraint for the performance of the task. The controllability of the stressor was found to have no effect on the participants' performance. However, those who were exposed to either controllable or uncontrollable stress showed a significantly stronger tendency to offer solutions before all available alternatives had been considered and to scan their alternatives in a nonsystematic fashion than did participants who were not exposed to stress. In addition, patterns of alternative scanning were found to be correlated with the correctness of solutions to decision problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit theories, attributions, and coping: A meaning system approach.

This research sought to integrate C. S. Dweck and E. L. Leggett's (1988) model with attribution theory. Three studies tested the hypothesis that theories of intelligence—the belief that intelligence is malleable (incremental theory) versus fixed (entity theory)—would predict (and create) effort versus ability attributions, which would then mediate mastery-oriented coping. Study 1 revealed that, when given negative feedback, incremental theorists were more likely than entity theorists to attribute to effort. Studies 2 and 3 showed that incremental theorists were more likely than entity theorists to take remedial action if performance was unsatisfactory. Study 3, in which an entity or incremental theory was induced, showed that incremental theorists' remedial action was mediated by their effort attributions. These results suggest that implicit theories create the meaning framework in which attributions occur and are important for understanding motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Controlling the uncontrollable: Effects of stress on illusory perceptions of controllability.

Individuals' failure to exercise actual control over an event might be compensated for by trying to bolster a generalized, subjective sense of control. Control might then be sought by undertaking acts the effect of which on the environment is illusory. This observation led to the hypothesis that stress, which undermines persons' sense of control, would engender illusory perceptions of controllability. The hypothesis was tested in 3 experiments that required Ss to choose between 2 gambling forms. Although the 2 forms were essentially identical, 1 was designed to instill an illusion of control. The results showed that highly stressed Ss, compared with those who experienced low stress, preferred gambling forms that heightened perceptions of controllability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance attributions: Effects of mood and involvement.

A 2 (good vs bad mood)?×?2 (important vs unimportant)?×?2 (success vs failure) experimental design was used to investigate whether importance could moderate mood effects on students' performance attributions. Attributions were analyzed in terms of their underlying dimensions (locus, stability, and controllability) as specified by B. Weiner (1985). Undergraduate business students (31 men, 49 women) were randomly assigned to 1 of the 8 experimental conditions. Analysis revealed a significant 3-way interaction of mood, importance, and performance outcome (p?     

Older and younger adults' attributions of responsibility toward rape victims and rapists.

Examined the judgments made by 384 undergraduates and 384 50–74 yr olds of assailant and victim responsibility for a sexual assault. Ss were assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: they viewed slides of an assault, read a passage about the crime, or read the passage and saw photographs of both the assailant and the victim. The rapist was presented as either a well-dressed or poorly dressed young man, and the victim appeared either as a provocative or demure young woman. Ss also learned that the victim either physically resisted or failed to resist the assailant. Young Ss attributed more responsibility to the assailant than did older Ss, and the provocative woman was perceived as more responsible for the victimization than the demure woman. Young Ss attributed greater responsibility to the victim when she resisted the assault of a well-dressed assailant than when she resisted a poorly dressed assailant. Females attributed less responsibility to the demure woman when she was assaulted by a poorly dressed assailant than a well dressed assailant. In contrast to older Ss, young Ss who visually observed the crime held the victim more responsible for her victimization. Results are interpreted in terms of the defensive attribution hypothesis of E. Walster (see record 1966-02829-001) and the discounting principle of attribution presented by H. H. Kelley (see record 1973-24800-001). (French abstract) (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On sin versus sickness: A theory of perceived responsibility and social motivation.

Lack of effort as a cause of achievement failure evokes more punishment than does lack of ability. Perceptions of the controllability of these causes, inferences about personal responsibility, and affective reactions of sympathy and anger mediate between the causal perceptions of ability and effort and punishment responses. This general theory of social motivation explains some reactions to stigmatized persons as well as observations related to help giving, peer rejection, and aggression. The proposed conceptual system distinguishes the reactions to sin vs sickness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern and reactions to uncontrollable stress: An analysis of performance strategies, affect, and attributions during failure.

Examined the experience of 20 Type A and 20 Type B male undergraduates (as identified through the Jenkins Activity Survey) during prolonged exposure to unsolvable discrimination problems in which the cue signaling failure was highly or moderately salient. The results reveal that the problem-solving strategies of high-salience Type As deteriorated across failure trials. They commented on their lack of ability and on the task's difficulty as accounting for their failure, expressing annoyance and anger. On the other hand, Type Bs did not use ineffectual strategies; they continued to perform appropriately during failure. However, they did comment on task difficulty as well as on chance and the experimenter as playing critical roles in their failure to do well. The results suggest that deficits in performance of Type As and Bs in previous investigations are the outcomes of different processes: As may be helpless, whereas Bs may be pseudohelpless. The findings support Pattern A as a specific coping style aimed at maintaining and asserting control over stressful aspects of the environment. Implications for the reformulated models of learned helplessness are discussed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child sexual abuse: victim age, victim gender, and observer gender as factors contributing to attributions of responsibility

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of victim gender, and observer gender on the tendency to attribute responsibility for extrafamilial child sexual abuse to the victim and the nonoffending parents. METHOD: A 2 (Victim Age) x 2 (Victim Gender) x 2 (Observer Gender) between-subjects design was employed. Undergraduate students (N = 145) read a vignette describing a sexually abusive interaction between an adult male neighbor and a child. In this vignette, the child's gender and age (6 years old, 13 years old) varied. After reading the vignette, participants used a 5-point scale to indicate the degree to which they believed the victim and the parents (a) were responsible for, (b) were to blame for, (c) caused, and (d) could have prevented the abuse. RESULTS: Greater responsibility was assigned to older than younger victims. Both parents were ascribed similar levels of responsibility, and were ascribed greater responsibility when the child victim was younger than older. Male observers attributed greater responsibility and causality to the victim and the parents than did female observers. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that responsibility attributions directed toward the victim and the nonoffending parents may be a function of the victim's age. In addition, the findings support previous research suggesting that male observers may tend to hold victims more responsible for their abuse than female observers. Implications for treatment and research are discussed.     

Modeling, direct instruction, and attributions: Effects on altruism.

In a study with 63 male and 63 female 7–10 yr olds, Ss were induced to donate winnings from a game to charity either by having seen a model donate, by being instructed to donate, or by a combination of the 2. They were subsequently either told they had donated because they must enjoy helping others, told they had donated because they thought they were expected to, or not given any reason for their behavior. There was more donation both immediately and 2 wks later in the modeling group given a self-oriented attribution than in the modeling group given an externally oriented attribution. Attributions had no effect in the 2 influence procedures involving direct instruction. On a generalization test, Ss in the self-attribution group shared more pencils with another child than either those in the no-attribution or external-attribution group, regardless of training condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of pitch and speech rate on personal attributions.

In 3 experiments, 61 undergraduates listened to recordings of male speakers answering 2 interview questions and rated the speakers on a variety of semantic differential scales. The recordings had been altered so that the pitch of the speakers' voices was raised or lowered by 20% or left at its normal level, and speech rate was expanded or compressed by 30% or left at its normal rate. The results provide clear evidence that listeners use these acoustic properties in making personal attributions to speakers. Speakers with high-pitched voices were judged less truthful, less emphatic, less "potent" (smaller, thinner, faster), and more nervous. Slow-talking speakers were judged less truthful, less fluent, and less persuasive and were seen as more "passive" (slower, colder, passive, weaker) but more "potent." However, the effects of the acoustic manipulations on personal attributions also depended on the particular question that elicited the response. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of counselors' etiology attributions on college students' procrastination.

Clients come to counseling with personal theories about their problems' etiology. Counselors bring other hypotheses to the table. Counselors may be more helpful either when they accept clients' theories or when they provide new ones. A third option is that problem etiology is irrelevant in finding solutions. This study tested the cognitive dissonance theory of interpretations (L. Levy, 1963; S. R. Strong, J. A. Welsh, J. L. Corcoran, & W. T. Hoyt, 1992), which argues that discrepant interpretations are most helpful. Eighty two college-aged procrastinators (25 men, 57 women; ages 17–23, M?=?18) interacted with a counselor who (a) agreed with them about procrastination's causes, (b) disagreed with them, or (c) said it was not important to specify a cause. Contrary to prediction, the 3rd condition led to more improvement in participants' self-reported procrastination. This finding is discussed in terms of possible responsibility attributions implicit in the 3rd condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unpredictable and uncontrollable events: A new perspective on experimental neurosis.

Recent work has shown that unpredictable and/or uncontrollable events can produce a variety of cognitive, affective, and somatic disturbances to the organism. These disturbances are compared to and found to be quite similar to the symptoms of the classic cases of experimental neurosis described by Pavlov, W. H. Gantt, H. S. Liddell, J. H. Masserman, and J. M. Wolpe. The hypothesis is then developed that the common element in the experimental neurosis literature is that important life events become unpredictable or uncontrollable, or both. This interpretation is contrasted with the earlier physiological, psychodynamic, and behavioral interpretations made by the investigators themselves. The implications of this analysis of experimental neurosis for various issues in the predictability–controllability literature are discussed—for example, the interaction between unpredictability and controllability, the "threshold" for response to lack of predictability or controllability, and the lack vs the loss of predictability and controllability. Finally, the possible clinical relevance of this new perspective on experimental neurosis is discussed. (66 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)     

Guilt following transgression: An attribution of responsibility approach.

People typically experience guilt when they violate sociomoral norms. Using Heider's (1958) attribution of responsibility model in the two experiments reported here, I examined the attributional mediators of posttransgression guilt. The basic design of both studies was a Level of Responsibility?×?Subject Role factorial. The first study used a role-playing methodology; in the second, subjects generated protocols describing their own past experiences. The second experiment also distinguished between attributions of responsibility, causality, and blame. In both studies, harmdoer guilt was higher following accidental as opposed to intentional transgressions. The discussion focuses on the dynamics of guilt development and reduction and on the importance of maintaining conceptual distinctions among the various attribution measures in future guilt research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential changes in noradrenaline turnover in specific regions of rat brain produced by controllable and uncontrollable shocks.

Three studies investigated the effects of the ability to avoid or escape shock (controllability) and the lack of ability to do so (uncontrollability) on noradrenergic neurons in various brain regions of 104 male Wistar rats. Brain levels of noradrenaline (NA) and its major metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol sulfate (MHPG-SO?), were measured fluorometrically. Results indicate that after 3 or 6 hrs in a free operant avoidance-escape stress procedure, the experimental Ss able to avoid or escape shock showed greater increases in NA turnover (lower NA levels and higher MHPG-SO? levels) in the hypothalamus, amygdala, and thalamus than the yoked Ss unable to control the same shock. After 21 hrs of stress, yoked Ss exhibited a more marked enhancement of NA turnover in these brain regions than did experimental Ss. Once shock-controlling responses had been acquired and well established by experimental Ss, the responses of NA neurons in these Ss did not differ markedly from those in the nonshocked controls. Yoked Ss given the same repetitive sessions of uncontrollable shock displayed sustained increases in NA turnover preferentially in the hypothalamus and amygdala, compared with the experimental Ss. Results suggest that NA release in specific brain regions in the experimental "coping" rats is increased before the rats have learned the effective coping response. However, once a coping response is firmly established, NA release is reduced. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of performance attributions on others' perceptions of the attributor.

Two studies investigated the effects that performers' attributions actually have on others' impressions. 441 undergraduates served as Ss. "Self-serving" internal attributions for success and external attributions for failure produced slightly higher ability evaluations than did the opposite pattern in 1 of the 2 experiments. However, in both experiments, these self-serving attributions produced lower ratings on a modesty dimension. External attributions were also perceived as relatively dishonest for all Ss in Exp I and for unsuccessful Ss in Exp II. Publicity (Exp I) and task variables (Exp II) did not affect ability, modesty, or honesty judgments made from performance attributions but did strongly affect the influence these dimensions had on overall likability evaluations. In general, Ss who made internal attributions tended to be better liked than those who made external attributions. The implications and limitations of these results are discussed relative to self-presentational considerations. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)