Duration of failure,causal attributions for failure,and subsequent reactions

Subjects were given a preliminary problem solving task of either short or long duration, and were told that they could shorten the duration of aversive noise bursts by correctly solving the problems. They were then given false feedback that they had done either well or poorly on the problems. Two groups of failing subjects were given information designed to lead them to attribute failure to either lack of ability or a difficult task. Two additional groups received “success” or “failure” feedback without any attributional cues. Failure-induced stress was reported to be greater under short duration conditions than under long duration conditions, and increased to the extent that subjects were led to believe they were personally responsible for failure. Following the preliminary failure period, task performance in the same situation and task performance and persistence in a different situation were assessed. In each case, performance and persistence decreased (a) following short-duration failure when subjects were led to attribute failure to a difficult task, and (b) following long-duration failure when subjects were led to attribute failure to lack of ability. These results are discussed within a framework that emphasizes the role of casual attributions in mediating the effects of failure.     

Perfectionism in relation to attributions for success or failure

The present study examined the association between dimensions of perfectionism and attributions for success and failure. A sample of 124 students (40 males, 84 females) completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and the Multidimensional Multiattributional Causation Scale (MMCS). The MPS consists of three subscales measuring self-oriented perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism, and socially pre-scribed perfectionism. The MMCS measures internal attributions (i.e., ability, effort) and external attributions (i.e., luck, contextual factors) for positive and negative hypo-thetical outcomes in the achievement and affiliation domains. The main finding of this study was that socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with a general ten-dency to attribute outcomes to external causes. This external attribution pattern was obtained for successes and failures in both the achievement and interpersonal spheres. Overall, the main results suggest that socially prescribed perfectionism is associated with perceptions of learned helplessness. The implications of these findings are dis-cussed.     

Parents' adjustment to late abortion,stillbirth or infant death: the role of causal attributions

The aim of the present study was to explore the attributional processes and the effect of various causal attributions on post-traumatic symptomatology among 110 parents who had lost an infant. The attributional processes were examined with longitudinal data collected over 12 months. One to four weeks post-loss, approximately half of the parents reported that they were never or rarely concerned with attributing responsibility for their baby's death. The importance of attributing responsibility was associated with several post-traumatic symptoms, as was searching for meaning in the death. Attributions to oneself, others, or God were positively and significantly associated with numerous post-traumatic symptoms. The results are discussed with reference to other studies dealing with the effect of attributions on subsequent adjustment among victims of trauma.     

Metamemory, memory performance, and causal attributions in gifted and average children

Fifth and seventh graders who had been teacher-selected as high- or average-achieving were tested on the Kognitiver F?higkeits Test, a standardized test of intellectual abilities for German children. Children who met preestablished criteria as gifted or average were then tested on measures of metacognitive knowledge, attributional beliefs, and performance on a sort recall task. Results indicated ability-related differences in metamemory and sort recall performances. Responses to the attributional questionnaires also varied systematically according to ability: gifted children were more likely to attribute their academic successes to high ability than were average children, who showed a stronger belief in the importance of effort in determining task outcomes. Causal modeling analyses illustrated the strength of metacognitive knowledge as a performance predictor on the memory task, especially for average children. Results are discussed in terms of the value of metacognitive theory in understanding individual performance differences.     

Adulthood age differences in causal attributions for cognitive, physical, and social performance

Past research has revealed an unflattering pattern of attributions for the performance of the elderly. More specifically, poor performance by the elderly is attributed to internal and stable factors such as inability, whereas poor performance by the young is attributed to external and unstable factors such as bad luck. In the present study, 42 young (M age = 19.18 years) and 39 elderly (M age = 74.90 years) men and women made causal attributions for their own or for another person's hypothetical performance in the cognitive, physical, and social domains. When attributions for the same performance by young and elderly adults were compared, the results presented an unflattering view of the elderly, similar to the pattern in previous research. In contrast, when attributions for good versus poor performance by the elderly were compared, a more favorable picture emerged: The elderly were more likely to be given credit for their good performance than to be blamed for their poor performance. These findings give reason to question the pervasiveness of the negative view of the elderly that has been presented in previous studies.     

Intolerance of uncertainty,causal uncertainty,causal importance,self-concept clarity and their relations to generalized anxiety disorder

Although numerous studies have provided support for the notion that intolerance of uncertainty plays a key role in pathological worry (the hallmark feature of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)), other uncertainty-related constructs may also have relevance for the understanding of individuals who engage in pathological worry. Three constructs from the social cognition literature, causal uncertainty, causal importance, and self-concept clarity, were examined in the present study to assess the degree to which these explain unique variance in GAD, over and above intolerance of uncertainty. N = 235 participants completed self-report measures of trait worry, GAD symptoms, and uncertainty-relevant constructs. A subgroup was subsequently classified as low in GAD symptoms (n = 69) or high in GAD symptoms (n = 54) based on validated cut scores on measures of trait worry and GAD symptoms. In logistic regressions, only elevated intolerance of uncertainty and lower self-concept clarity emerged as unique correlates of high (vs. low) GAD symptoms. The possible role of self-concept uncertainty in GAD and the utility of integrating social cognition theories and constructs into clinical research on intolerance of uncertainty are discussed.     

Causal attributions and emotional reactions to outcome in a sporting contest

24 male and 22 female undergraduates competed in same-sex pairs in a bicycle ergometer ‘race’. Ratings of how important participants felt it was to win were gathered before the race. After the contest, ratings of satisfaction with performance and attributions for the causes of winning or losing together with ratings of the intensity of a variety of emotional feelings, were made by participants. Results showed that both male and female race winners attributed their win to internal factors (the effort they made, their motivation and personality). Losers attributed their loss to external factors (their opponent's effort and personality). For both winners and losers, however, emotional reactions were related only to internal attributions. Feelings of satisfaction among winners, and feelings of irritation experienced by losers, were related to internal attributions irrespective of how important participants thought it was to win the race. But the relationship between attributions and feelings of pride in winners and feelings of unhappiness in losers were influenced by the importance attached to winning the race. Some evidence emerged to suggest that losers who had considered it important to win, used defences against emotional feelings of disgust, dissatisfaction and discontent.     

Causal attributions for success and failure in relation to expectations of success based upon selective or manipulative control

Subjects worked at a 10-item Anagrams Test. In a manipulative control condition the prior performance of subjects on a set of practice anagrams was controlled so that half of these subjects began the test with high expectations of success and half with low expectations of success As a check on the manipulation, subjects provided ratings of how confident they were that they could pass the test (i e, solve five anagrams or more) In a selective control condition subjects were not given practice items but were subsequently assigned to high versus low expectation groups on the basis of their confidence ratings The difficulty level of the items in the Anagrams Test was manipulated so that half the subjects in each condition passed the test and half failed. Subsequently all subjects were required to rate the degree to which they considered ability (or lack of ability), effort (or lack of effort), task difficulty (easy or hard), and luck (good or bad) were causes of their performance outcome (success or failure). It was found that the expected success was attributed more to ability and less to good luck than was the unexpected success The expected failure was attributed more to lack of ability and less to bad luck than was the unexpected failure There was a greater tendency for subjects to appeal to task difficulty and effort as causes of their performance when they succeeded than when they failed. These results were discussed in terms of a structural balance model of attribution behavior and also in relation to Heider's naive analysis of the causes of action     

Effect of perceived choice,expected outcome,and observed outcome of an action on the causal attributions of actors

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that actors' causal attributions for success and failure would be affected by the degree of perceived choice they had in taking an action. Actors either were assigned, or selected one of four therapeutic outlines which were expected to have either a positive or a negative effect, and which actually had either a positive or negative outcome on a purportedly phobic person. For negative outcomes, it was predicted that perceived choice would induce a sense of personal responsibility when a positive outcome was expected, and lead actors to attribute more responsibility to themselves as a result. Results supported this prediction. For positive outcomes, however, actors attributed responsibility to themselves regardless of expectancy or choice. Actors were also found to attribute generally more responsibility to themselves for positive than negative outcomes. Results were discussed in terms of self-esteem motivation and the information available to the actor.     

The contributions of goal characteristics and causal attributions to emotional experience in youth sport participants

Objectives. To examine the role of causal attributions, goal importance, and goal discrepancy as predictors of discrete emotions in youth sport settings. More specifically, causal attributions and goal characteristics were examined in an actual performance test and a natural competitive setting. Both direct effects and moderator models were tested.Method. Two studies were conducted. In the first study, 130 adolescent soccer players completed the Leger fitness test, as well as measures of goal importance and objective goal discrepancy, and the CDSII to assess causal dimensions PANAS-X to assess emotions. In the second study, 174 adolescent swimmers and track and field athletes participated in sport-specific competitions. Participants completed the same battery of questionnaires as in the first study with the exception that a measure of subjective goal discrepancy replaced objective goal discrepancy.Results. Results showed general consistency across studies. Both causal dimensions and goal characteristics (importance and discrepancy) showed direct effects in the prediction of emotion. However, there was no support for theoretical links between causal dimensions and specific emotions. Little support was found for a moderator model examining the interactions among and between goal characteristics and causal dimensions. In addition, subjective performance discrepancy was a much stronger predictor of emotion in the second study compared with objective performance discrepancy in the first study.Conclusions. Although causal attributions and goal characteristics are important predictors of emotion, there was little support for the theoretical model proposing an interaction among these variables in the experience of emotion for youth sport participants.     

The role of fairness perceptions and accountability attributions in predicting reactions to organizational events

Researchers have found that fairness perceptions relate to many different outcomes (e.g., J. A. Colquitt, D. E. Conlon, M. J. Wesson, C. Porter, & K. Y. Ng, 2001). However, they cannot predict when an employee will react against a specific individual or against the organization itself. To address this question, the authors integrated the fairness and blame-attributions literatures. They predicted that blame attributions would strengthen the relationship between fairness perceptions and reactions to specific organizational agents. They surveyed 48 employees who believed there were inaccuracies in their most recent performance appraisals. Employees reported perceptions of fairness and attributions of blame to both their supervisor and the organization and rated their commitment to both targets. Supervisors simultaneously rated each employee's citizenship behavior toward each target. For supervisor reactions and organizational citizenship behavior directed at the organization, blame and fairness perceptions interacted; unique positive reactions were elicited only when the supervisor was perceived as blameless and fair.     

A Gricean approach to the use of consensus and distinctiveness in causal attributions of verbally described interpersonal events

Various causal attribution theories, starting with the covariation model, argue that people use consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency information to causally explain events and behaviors. Yet, the visual presentation of the covariation model in the form of a cube is based on the assumptions that these dimensions generally affect attributions independently, symmetrically, and equally. A Gricean analysis suggests that these assumptions may not generally hold in the case of causal judgments for verbally communicated interpersonal events. We had participants judge the causal role of an actor and a patient in interpersonal events that were described through actor‐verb‐patient sentences under high versus low consensus and distinctiveness (Studies 1, 2, and 3) or without such information (Studies 2 and 3). As predicted by Gricean logic, consensus and distinctiveness effects on causality ratings depended on the target whose causal role participants assessed, on the information about the alternative dimension, and, most consistently, on consensus and distinctiveness being high versus low. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Missing the mark: effects of time and causal attributions on goal revision in response to goal-performance discrepancies

In an attempt to extend past goal setting research, the present study examined the influence of goal-performance discrepancies (GPDs), causal attributions, and temporal factors on the process of dynamic self-regulation. Goal revision processes were examined longitudinally in a sample of 100 varsity-level college track and field athletes over the course of an 8-week competitive season. The results indicate that an individual's GPD significantly predicted the amount of goal revision engaged in by the athletes, such that participants were more likely to lower their competition (proximal) and season (distal) goals when they failed to reach these goals and their respective GPDs were large. However, as hypothesized, this relationship was moderated by stability attributions and the temporal location of the individual with respect to the time period allotted for goal attainment. Implications for future research in the area of goal setting and dynamic self-regulation are discussed.     

The relation of elementary-school children's externalizing behaviour to emotion attributions,evaluation of consequences,and moral reasoning

This study examined the relation of elementary-school children's externalizing behaviour to emotion attributions, evaluation of consequences, and moral reasoning. Externalizing behaviour was rated by the parents using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL/4 – 18). Moral development was assessed by three stories describing different types of rule violation and a moral conflict in friendship including obligations and self-interest. The children were asked about the emotions they would attribute to the hypothetical victimizer (or protagonist) and the self-as-victimizer (or protagonist), the evaluation of the interpersonal consequences of the rule violation (or action decision) as well as their justifications. Boys who made selfish action decisions and attributed positive emotions to the protagonist of the moral dilemma displayed more externalizing behaviour than girls. Furthermore, boys with consistent moral (negative) emotion attributions to the self-as-victimizer across the rule violations showed less externalizing behaviour than boys with inconsistent moral emotion attributions. Younger children who anticipated negative interpersonal consequences of transgressions displayed higher rates of externalizing behaviour than younger children who anticipated less negative consequences. Moral reasons in the context of emotion attributions to the self-as-victimizer were negatively associated with externalizing behaviour.     

Causal attributions and strategy use in relation to memory performance differences in younger and older adults

A metacognitive hypothesis to explain age differences in adult memory is explored here–that younger and older adults differ in beliefs about memory and strategic processing. The motivational beliefs that adults make for their own memory performances were examined across tests of recall, recognition, face–name learning, and appointment-keeping. Forty-eight older and 48 younger community-living adults were required to report the factors they believed influenced their performance and the memory strategies used for each task. A final questionnaire required subjects to rank order the importance of a list of causal factors. There were significantly more younger adults as compared to older adults who attributed performance to controllable factors (i.e. strategy use), although age differences in beliefs on a more familiar memory task were smaller than on other tasks. Moreover, within age groups, attributions to controllable factors were associated with increased memory performance compared to when memory was attributed to uncontrollable factors (i.e. ability, age). Believing that memory is uncontrollable may undermine the efficient use of effort in cognition, consistent with current metacognitive theory.     

Identification with an aggressor or a victim and its relation to creativity

Studied identification using a meta-contrast design. The first stimulus was the word 'I'. The second stimulus depicted an aggressor and a victim facing each other. The subliminal 'I' was flashed on either the victim or on the aggressor, or completely withheld. The subjects were 33 school children, aged 10–12 years. They also took a percept-genetic (PG) test of creativity, measuring willingness to return to and recognize early conceptions of a stimulus picture (a still-life). The results showed that the creative children reacted with less anxiety and defense when manipulated to identify with the aggressor than with the victim. The uncreative children showed the opposite reaction, namely a preference for the passive, surrendering victim.