A Cross-cultural Study on Psychological Mechanisms of Achievement Attribution

Abstract

Existing studies found that people tend to attribute success to internal strengths whereas failure to situational factors, exhibiting a self-serving bias. This pattern has been frequently observed in Westerners but mixed in East Asian contexts. This study explored what mechanisms can explain inconsistent attributional behaviors across cultures. Specifically, we examined (a) how social desirability of explicit and implicit self-enhancement and complexity of self-concept (dialectic self and self-construals) affect attributional decisions, and (b) whether modesty and face-saving are mediators to explain the intricacies of attribution decisions. College students from the U.S., Mainland China, and Hong Kong participated in an experiment for cross-cultural comparisons. Results suggested that (a) differences in explicit self-enhancement motivations, dialectic self, and interdependent self-construals caused variations in attribution decisions, (b) modesty and self-face concern were two competing mediators affecting these decisions, and (c) the salience of these proposed mechanisms varies across cultures. Directions for future research and management implications are discussed.