Self-serving attributional biases: Perceptual or response distortions?

Examines D. T. Miller's (see record 1980-09658-001) analysis of what constitutes a self-serving attributional bias. It is argued that his delineation of different types of self-serving attributions is not supported by the empirical evidence collected to date and that what previous authors (e.g., D. T. Miller and M. Ross, 1975) have viewed as a perceptual bias in the causal inference process may be better seen as a response bias or as a strategic self-presentation designed to maximize public esteem. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-awareness, probability of improvement, and the self-serving bias.

Evidence for the self-serving bias (attributing success internally and failure externally) is inconsistent. Although internal success attributions are consistently found, researchers find both internal and external attributions for failure. The authors explain these disparate effects by considering the intersection of 2 systems, a system comparing self against standards and a causal attribution system. It was predicted that success and failure attributions are moderated by self-awareness and by the ability to improve. When self-focus is high (a) success is attributed internally, (b) failure is attributed internally when people can improve, (c) failure is attributed externally when people cannot improve, and (d) these attributions affect state self-esteem. Implications for the self-serving bias are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving the causes of unemployment: An evaluation of the Causal Dimensions Scale in a real-life situation.

The perceived causes for employment (success) and unemployment (failure) were considered in a longitudinal study with 378 higher professional graduates, who completed a questionnaire shortly before (imaginary situation) and 6 months after their final exam (real-life situation). The design permitted a comparison for the same subjects of causal attributions for an initially imaginary occurrence that eventually became real. Although the results indicate some inadequacies in the internal structure of the Causal Dimensions Scale (CDS), the subscale structure was found to be invariant across conditions (success/failure) and situations (imaginary/real-life). Furthermore, the CDS showed a considerable divergent validity. The perceived causes for (un)employment were consistent with the literature suggesting a self-serving attributional bias. Contrary to expectation the subjects did not change their causal perceptions when becoming actually (un)employed. Indications were found for a self-serving motivational bias, resulting in labor-market success for those who are initially optimistic and motivated to find a job. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What constitutes a self-serving attributional bias? A reply to Bradley.

In a response to G. W. Bradley's (see record 1979-26025-001) article, the value of his "broadened self-serving bias formulation" is examined, and a case is made for clearly delineating different types of self-serving attributions. It is contended that there is still little support for the hypothesis that individuals alter their perception of causality so as to protect or enhance their self-esteem. (2 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)     

Role of causal attribution in personal problem solving.

In 2 studies with 180 undergraduates, self-appraised effective problem solving was associated with a unique pattern of causal attributions. In the 1st study, self-appraised effective relative to ineffective problem solvers tended to view the etiology of personal problems as largely within their own control and as due to their own failure to exert effort in the situations. In the 2nd study, self-appraised effective relative to ineffective problem solvers exhibited a more pronounced self-serving bias regarding successful and unsuccessful problem-solving attempts; effort attributions emerged as a distinguishing characteristic between the 2 groups. Self-appraised effective problem solvers viewed lack of effort as a primary component when their attempts to solve personal problems were unsuccessful. Results are discussed in relation to previous findings regarding causal attributions among different populations and to appropriate clinical interventions. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-serving biases in the attribution of causality: Fact or fiction?

A review of the evidence for and against the proposition that self-serving biases affect attributions of causality indicates that there is little empirical support for the proposition in its most general form. Some support was found for the contention that individuals engage in self-enhancing attributions under conditions of success, but only minimal evidence suggested that individuals engage in self-protective attributions under conditions of failure. Moreover, it was proposed that the self-enhancing effect may not be due to motivational distortion, but rather to the tendency of people to (a) expect their behavior to produce success, (b) discern a closer covariation between behavior and outcomes in the case of increasing success than in the case of constant failure, and (c) misconstrue the meaning of contingency. (60 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attribution, affect, and college exam performance.

Results of a questionnaire study with 207 college students show that Ss attributed their own performance and the performance of the average student to ability, test difficulty, preparation, and luck. Consistent with the self-serving bias hypothesis, successful Ss perceived internal factors as more important causes and unsuccessful Ss perceived external factors as more important causes of their own performance than the performance of the average student. Furthermore, successful Ss saw internal and stable factors as more important causes of others' outcomes (as well as their own) than did unsuccessful Ss. Ss' anxiety about their performance and their ratings of the course and instructor were systematically, albeit weakly, linked with specific causal attributions. The implications of these causal inferences and affective responses in the educational context are discussed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attribution processes in distressed and nondistressed couples: IV. Self–partner attribution differences.

The importance of the self–other distinction for understanding the relation between attributions and marital satisfaction is examined in two studies. In Study 1, causal attributions for naturally occurring behavior by the self and spouse were investigated. Study 2 examined both causal and responsibility attributions for hypothetical behaviors. In both studies, the attributions of spouses seeking therapy were investigated in relation to those of happily married persons in the community. The results showed that self–other attribution differences varied as a function of marital distress. Nondistressed spouses showed a positive attribution bias by making more benign attributions for partner behavior as opposed to self-behavior, whereas distressed spouses showed a negative attribution bias by making less benign attributions for partner behavior than for self-behavior. These findings suggest that self-attributions may, in part, determine the impact of attributions for spouse behavior on marital satisfaction. The clinical relevance of the results and their implications for research on actor–observer attribution differences are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Terror management and attributions of blame to innocent victims: Reconciling compassionate and defensive responses.

In this article, 4 studies test the hypothesis that reminders of personal death bias the normative attribution process and increase the motivation to blame severely injured, innocent victims. In Studies 1 and 2, primes of death led to greater attributions of blame to severely injured victims but did not significantly influence attributions of blame to either mildly injured victims or negatively portrayed others. In Study 3, primes of death led to greater attributions of blame to victims of circumstance but did not influence attributions of blame to victims who were explicitly responsible for their condition. In Study 4, innocent victims who were severely injured elicited more death-related cognitions than did victims who were responsible for their condition or who were only mildly injured. These findings indicate that the predictions of normative models of attribution may be moderated, and even overturned, when observers are reminded of their personal death such that defensive needs override rational inferential processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive illusions about the self: Short-term benefits and long-term costs.

Two studies addressed parallel questions about the correlates and consequences of self-enhancement bias. Study 1 was conducted in a laboratory context and examined self-enhancing evaluations of performance in a group-interaction task. Study 2 assessed students' illusory beliefs about their academic ability when they first entered college and then followed them longitudinally to test claims about the long-term benefits of positive illusions. Both studies showed that self-enhancement bias was related to narcissism, ego involvement, self-serving attributions, and positive affect. Study 2 found that self-enhancement was associated with decreasing levels of self-esteem and well-being as well as with increasing disengagement from the academic context. Self-enhancement did not predict higher academic performance or higher graduate rates. Thus, the findings suggest that self-enhancing beliefs may be adaptive in the short term but not in the long term. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is There a Universal Positivity Bias in Attributions? A Meta-Analytic Review of Individual, Developmental, and Cultural Differences in the Self-Serving Attributional Bias.

Researchers have suggested the presence of a self-serving attributional bias, with people making more internal, stable, and global attributions for positive events than for negative events. This study examined the magnitude, ubiquity, and adaptiveness of this bias. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 266 studies, yielding 503 independent effect sizes. The average d was 0.96, indicating a large bias. The bias was present in nearly all samples. There were significant age differences, with children and older adults displaying the largest biases. Asian samples displayed significantly smaller biases (d = 0.30) than U.S. (d = 1.05) or Western (d = 0.70) samples. Psychopathology was associated with a significantly attenuated bias (d = 0.48) compared with samples without psychopathology (d = 1.28) and community samples (d = 1.08). The bias was smallest for samples with depression (0.21), anxiety (0.46), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (0.55). Findings confirm that the self-serving attributional bias is pervasive in the general population but demonstrates significant variability across age, culture, and psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal attributions in paranoia and depression: Internal, personal, and situational attributions for negative events.

Causal attributions for positive and negative hypothetical social events made by paranoid patients, depressed patients, and nonpatient participants were examined via a novel measure of causal locus, the Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire. Depressed patients tended to attribute negative social events to internal (self-blaming) causes. Nonpatient participants and patients with delusions of persecution tended to avoid such self-blame. However, whereas nonpatient participants tended to choose situational or circumstantial external attributions, paranoid patients tended to choose external attributions that located blame in other individuals. These findings support R. P. Bentall, P. Kinderman, and S. Kaney's (1994) defensive attributional model of persecutory delusions, suggest some modifications to that model, and have implications for the understanding of the relationship between causal attributions and social and self-perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamics of the attribution process.

Determined whether attributions made by 11 sportswriters for success or failure and for expected or unexpected outcomes of 16 games of 11 teams of the National Football League would change over time and over repeated observations. Hometown newspaper articles were coded by 12 trained undergraduates. Data showed that situational factors that led to differences in the type (locus and stability) of attributions being made decreased in strength with the passage of time and with repeated observations, but factors that motivated the attribution process may have increased with time. A causal model analysis showed some evidence that consistency forces affected the attribution process, but only after a prior win. The causal model also suggested that internal attributions for the outcome of a prior game predicted a team's doing better than expected in the subsequent game. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers' beliefs about the causes of infant growth deficiency: is there attributional bias?

Tested for defensive attributional bias in mothers' causal explanations for infant (2-12.5 months) growth deficiency. Mothers of healthy babies (controls; n = 82), growth deficient babies without medical problems (n = 27) and growth deficient babies with mild medical problems (n = 22) rated their levels of agreement with 23 causes of growth problems which were designed to vary in the degree of personal threat to parenting self-esteem. Ratings were completed for the mother's (Own) baby and for a nonspecific (Other) baby. Findings partially support a theory of defensive attributional bias, with higher agreement when causes referred to Other (vs. Own) baby, and lower agreement with family-related than with medical/nutritional causes. Factors that may have influenced material experience of threat and implications of the findings for clinical practice are discussed.     

Strategic self-presentation in supervision.

A counselor trainee with a defensive self-presentational style is one who takes credit for the client's improvement or blames the client for deterioration. Conversely, a trainee with a counterdefensive style attributes improvement to the client or accepts personal responsibility for deterioration. 80 experienced (1–25 yrs) supervisors heard a tape of a simulated supervisory session in which a female trainee summarized her ongoing treatment of a moderately depressed client. Ss heard the trainee (a) describe how, recently, the client's depression had either lifted (improvement condition) or worsened (deterioration condition); and (b) attribute this change either to her own efforts or to the client. Ss then completed several measures, including an abbreviated version of the Counselor Rating Form. The counterdefensive trainee was judged to be somewhat more socially skilled than the defensive trainee, but the defensive trainee was rated as significantly more self-confident. Regardless of the trainee's explanation, however, when the client's depression lifted, the trainee was viewed as significantly more competent, self-confident, expert, and attractive than she was when the client's depression worsened. Ss assigned more responsibility to the client for improvement than for deterioration, but this pattern was reversed for the trainee and supervisor. (25 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)     

The pathogenesis of persecutory delusions in the light of the attribution theory

Among the present pathogenetic hypotheses of delusions the cognitive model based on the attribution theory presents interesting assumptions. The attribution theory describes the ways in which we explain causes of events and human behaviour from the point of view of common sense psychology, as well as biases found in explaining everyday events, known as attribution errors. One of them is self-serving bias, which protects self-esteem and distorts attribution processes. Kaney, Bentall and co-workers revealed the defensive attributional style in the patients with persecutory delusions and after empirical research they suggested that delusions are the extreme forms of self-serving bias. After presenting the studies of Kaney-Bentall the authors of the article express their doubts regarding attributional hypothesis of persecutory delusions.