Attributional information processing: A response time model of causal subtraction.

Response time measures have been used occasionally in social psychology, but rarely as direct probes of information processing. A study (with 24 undergraduates) collecting response time data in a near-exact replication of L. McArthur's (see record 1972-27156-001) classic attribution study sheds light on the information processing involved in Ss' responses. The process is analyzed into 2 stages: (a) encoding or comprehension of the stimulus sentence and the consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency information and (b) attributional processing per se. In the 2nd stage, response time analyses suggest that perceivers operate by subtracting causes from an initial set to arrive at a response, rather than by adding causal components (person, stimulus, and circumstances) until an adequate cause is obtained. Subtraction is theoretically related to the salience model of attribution. Response time measures promise to expand greatly the ability of social psychologists to build process models of causal attribution and other kinds of social perception and cognition. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)