Attributional Style Predicts Causes of Negative Life Events on the Attributional Style Questionnaire

Abstract

The causes cited by 218 participants for the hypothetical positive and negative life events on the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) and the dimensional ratings of the causes were examined to determine the match between the dimensional and categorical definitions of attributional style. Optimists (n = 105) and pessimists (n = 113) used different types of causes to explain the negative ASQ events, but not the positive events. However, optimists' and pessimists' causal explanations shared a number of features. The findings suggest that attributional styles depend, in part, on the event being explained and demonstrate that the ASQ events elicit specific types of causes.     

初中数学学习中教师归因与学生自我归因的比较研究

本文研究了初中数学学习中教师的信念与归因．学生自我的信念与归因以及师生归因的比较,得出如下几点结论：(1)在教师和学生的信念中男生在数学学习中更占优势。但在归因领域里却没有发现显著的性别差异。(2)对最好的学生,教师倾向于努力归因;对最差的学生,教师倾向于基础归囚。(3)最好的学生自我归因时倾向于基础和方法归因,最差的学生倾向于努力和方法归因。(4)师生归因维度上的一般趋势：造成数学学习成功的原因比较稳定、内源、可控;造成数学学习失败的原因也倾向于内源,但比较不稳定,不可控。(5)师生特定归因中的差异广泛存在,建议采取相应的教育对策。     

基于愿望的儿童特质因果理解研究

本研究采用测验法,随机抽取60名42-93个月的儿童为被试,考察他们基于愿望的特质因果理解能力。结果显示:(1)从42个月起,儿童就可以根据特质信息进行行为预测和情绪预测,且随年龄增长,预测水平有显著提高;(2)儿童理解愿望的主观性是儿童进行情绪预测的前提。     

Religiosity and the formulation of causal attributions

Researchers have suggested that religious individuals engage primarily in intuitive over analytic processing. We investigated a connection between specific aspects of religiosity and the attribution of causation to social and physical events. College undergraduates completed measures of religiosity online and were asked to determine the causes of events that varied in type, outcome, and likelihood, as well as the personality characteristics of the protagonist. Individuals with greater intrinsic religious orientation, fundamentalism, who viewed God as loving, who were more dogmatic, and had an external locus of control were more likely to attribute supernatural phenomena to events compared to those lower in those traits. Supernatural causation was invoked more often when the character of the protagonist and the outcome of social event matched in valence (both positive or both negative) than when they did not match (e.g., character positive, outcome negative). Individuals low and high in religiosity showed similar reasoning, but individuals higher in religiosity were more likely to attribute supernatural causes for positive outcomes and characters in physical scenarios, consistent with their view of God as benevolent.     

Effects of a rival's perceived motives on constructive competition within organizations: A competitive dynamics perspective

Previous work on constructive competition has focused on competitors' motives and strategies; however, competition is an interactive process that is affected by both the competitor and the rival. Based on the competitive dynamics perspective and attribution theory, this study examines the impact of a perceived rival's motives on the constructiveness of competition. The results of a survey of 521 employees from 25 companies in the banking and insurance industry in Taiwan revealed that the perceptions of rivals' motives significantly affected the constructiveness of competition. By introducing the perspective of rival analysis to individual‐level competition, the present study provides a more comprehensive understanding of constructive competition within organizations.     

The perceptions of the causes of cardiac diseases: a taxonomy

Objective: This study verifies whether the open-ended question of the B-IPQ can collect causal attributions of patients with cardiac diseases, define the more frequent causal attributions reported, classify them and describe the relation between the classification of the causes and patients’ characteristics.

Design: A group of 2011 patients with cardiac diseases was recruited during the first week of cardiac rehabilitation.

Primary outcome measures: Every participant filled in the B-IPQ and the HADS. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of the text using T-LAB identified the most frequent causal attributions and their co-occurrences.

Results: Among the patients, 26% did not recognise any causal attribution. The likelihood that the patients did not provide an answer was increased in older patients, females, patients with lower levels of education and higher levels of depression. Smoking and stress emerged as the most important attributions, followed by genetics, metabolic syndrome, work and nutrition. Four thematic clusters were identified: ‘work and stress’, ‘metabolic syndrome and hypertension’, ‘displeasures and body care’ and ‘heredity and other related diseases’.

Conclusions: This study suggests a classification of the causal attributions in patients with cardiac diseases and identifies thematic patterns and unknown attributions. The themes identified can serve as categories for future closed-ended questions.     

Teachers facing school failure: the social valorization of effort in the school context

This paper describes two studies concerning teachers’ classroom interventions facing school failure. The role of two main variables is investigated: the lack of effort as a cause of failure students are held responsible for by teachers, and teacher’s social representations of intelligence. The first study (Study 1) explored the impact of “lack of effort” causal attribution for student’s failure on the intervention strategies adopted by 122 high school teachers. Study 2 analyzed the impact of social representations of intelligence, held by 202 high school teachers, on “lack of effort” causal inference and on behavioral interventions. Results highlight that teachers mostly choose more severe educational interventions with retributive purpose when failure is ascribable to an absence of effort expenditure by the student. Moreover, the findings support the role of teachers’ social representations of intelligence in failure explanations and in educational practices, showing that “lack of effort” attribution and practices with retributive purpose are predicted by the social representation of intelligence “as a gift”. Results are analyzed and discussed by considering the effort as a normative parameter of the school environment. This research was supported financially in part by MURST “University funds, 2004 (Ex 40%)”. Portions of these results were presented at the 8th International Conference on Social Representations, Rome.     

归因双重过程模型研究

目的:探讨在中国文化背景下,个体的归因过程是否一个双重过程,包括内隐归因和外显归因。方法:本研究同时采用外显的自陈式量表和自行设计的内隐联想测验(IAT),对归因的过程进行了探讨。结果:(1)归因是一个双重过程模型,包括内隐归因和外显归因;(2)个体的归因偏差受个体内隐归因影响;(3)归因的双重过程模型不受性别及经验因素影响。结论:归因是一个双重的过程。     

Differentiating explanations of attitude-consistent behavior: the role of perspectives and mode of perspective taking

We examined whether participants could differentiate between explanations of attitude-consistent behavior related to EU membership given from two perspectives (EU supporter and EU opponent) by means of three perspective taking modes (the explainer's own perspective, imagined in-group members' perspective, and imagined out-group members' perspective). Participants were presented with explanations provided from different perspectives and perspective taking modes, and they were asked to judge the extent to which they agreed with each explanation, to guess the attitude of the provider of each explanation, and to rate the quality of each explanation in various respects. Participants could not differentiate between explanations given by in-group members and out-group members who imagined the same perspective. They responded more favorably to explanations given from own perspective than from the imagined perspectives. The results suggest that there exists a shared understanding about how both sides should explain attitude-consistent behavior, but this understanding is measurably different from the actual explanations.     

Well‐Hidden Regularities: Abstract Uses of in and on Retain an Aspect of Their Spatial Meaning

Prepositions name spatial relationships (e.g., book on a table). But they are also used to convey abstract, non‐spatial relationships (e.g., Adrian is on a roll)—raising the question of how the abstract uses relate to the concrete spatial uses. Despite considerable success in delineating these relationships, no general account exists for the two most frequently extended prepositions: in and on. We test the proposal that what is preserved in abstract uses of these prepositions is the relative degree of control between the located object (the figure) and the reference object (the ground). Across four experiments, we find a continuum of greater figure control for on (e.g., Jordan is on a roll) and greater ground control for in (e.g., Casey is in a depression). These findings bear on accounts of semantic structure and language change, as well as on second language instruction.     

韦纳的人际归因模型在中国被试中的适用性研究

为检验韦纳等的人际归因模型,以中国中学生为被试对这一模型进行了验证。结果表明,韦纳提出的人际归因模型具有一定的文化普适性,也适合中国被试,它为改善儿童的同伴关系提供了一个新的视角。     

单一因果关系因果力判断研究述评

简单因果归纳包括自下而上的材料驱动的加工和自上而下的因果知识驱动加工两个方面。简单因果归纳的多数理论模型强调自下而上的材料驱动的加工,这些模型又存在联想解释与计算解释的基本区分。最后,概述了单一因果关系因果力判断研究的基本问题：因果力判断的主要影响因素和过程机制、研究的方法问题。     

领导领域中归因理论的研究述评

领导领域中的归因研究对于把握领导过程、组织绩效评估以及领导成员关系等问题均具有重要的理论与实际意义。文章回顾了自领导归因理论提出以后,领导归因领域中包括有关模型构建、验证与发展、内隐归因在内的相关研究;同时,对归因偏差、归因风格、领导成员关系、人格特质、领导类型、情绪、文化及相关人口学变量等因素与领导归因的关系研究进行了系统梳理;最后,分析、总结了该领域以往研究的不足及今后的研究趋势     

学习不良儿童归因特点的研究

考察学习不良儿童归因的特点。被试为小学3～5年级83名儿童。结果发现：对消极事件的归因上,学习不良儿童显著高于一般儿童,年级差异显著,四年级得分显著高于三年级;在消极事件各维度上,学习不良儿童与一般儿童在稳定性维度上差异显著,内部性和普遍性维度的年级差异显著,四年级显著高于三年级。对积极事件的归因上,一般儿童显著高于学习不良儿童;在积极事件各维度上,学习不良儿童与一般儿童在稳定性上差异显著,一般儿童高于学习不良儿童,年级差异显著,三年级显著高于五年级。     

个体攻击性对愤怒表情类别知觉的影响

探讨了个体攻击性对愤怒表情加工中反应偏向和敏感性的影响。使用愤怒、恐惧原型生成表情连续体作为实验材料, 采用类别知觉实验范式考察了高、低攻击个体识别和辨别愤怒-恐惧连续体的类别转折点和斜率。结果发现, 与低攻击个体相比, 高攻击个体识别愤怒-恐惧连续体类别界线处的曲线斜率更大; 高攻击个体具有类别界线向恐惧一端偏移的倾向, 但并没有达到统计显著。这表明, 高攻击个体不存在敌意归因偏向, 而是对愤怒和恐惧表情的转变具有更高的敏感性。     

中小学生对教师及同伴价值信念的知觉及其对归因的影响

用实验法研究了328名中小学生对教师及同伴价值信念的知觉及其对归因的影响。结果表明：(1)无论结果为成功还是失败,中小学生都一致认为努力的学生会受到教师的喜爱和同伴的欢迎,能力低又不努力的学生最不受教师和同伴的喜爱。(2)学生对教师及同伴价值信念的知觉对其归因有影响,中小学生可以为得到教师及同伴的认可而做出有利于自己的归因。     

权力对基本归因错误的影响

归因对理解和预测环境有着重要作用。归因的两阶段过程理论认为,自动化加工会衍生内归因,进一步的控制化加工才会导致外归因。社会权力会提升自动化加工倾向,因此,社会权力可能会提升基本归因错误的发生。通过四个研究,对此进行验证。研究1-3通过问卷测量,以特质性权力感作为社会权力的指标,其中研究1通过情境判断测验对基本归因错误进行测量,研究2-3采用自陈量表对基本归因错误进行测量,并对社会经济地位进行了控制。研究4则采用启动的方法启动临时性社会权力,探求社会权力与基本归因错误之间的因果关系。四个研究均得出了一致的结论：高社会权力个体更倾向于内归因。     

广告语言与产品卷入度对广告卷入度的影响研究

从产品角度对地方语广告进行研究。本研究将语言熟练度和地域文化认同这两个因素作为控制变量,选取产品卷入度作为调节变量,分别在语音和文本广告两种不同的广告媒介中,研究广告语言（普通话VS粤语）对广告卷入度（认知卷入度VS情感卷入度）的影响机制。结果表明：对于高卷入度产品广告,普通话比粤语产生的广告认知卷入度和情感卷入度都更高;对于低卷入度产品广告,无论广告使用普通话抑或粤语,消费者对广告的认知卷入度都没有显著差异,但粤语比普通话能带来更高的广告情感卷入度。     

New perspectives on the effects of action on perceptual and cognitive development

This special section was motivated by a resurgence in the view that it is impossible to investigate perceptual and cognitive development without considering how it is affected by, and intertwined with, infants' and children's action in the world. This view has long been foundational to the field, yet contemporary investigations of the effects of acting on cognition and perception have been limited. The research showcased in this section indicates that this trend is changing as researchers consider anew the ways in which cognition derives structure from action. The work presented here illustrates the breadth of these potential effects across ages and domains of development, and it highlights the breadth of methods that can be recruited to investigate them. This new research focus provides insight for the mechanisms by which action affects perception and cognition and at the same time reveals that much remains to be learned.