Causal attribution bias in shy males: Implications for self-esteem and self-confidence

Abstract

The present study examined the locus of control and the stability dimensions of causal attributions for past heterosexual social experiences in relation to social self-esteem and expectancy for success in interactions with persons of the opposite sex. Two hundred and fifty-four single college male subjects completed (a) a Social Self-Esteem Inventory (SSEI) and other scales, (b) a causal attribution questionnaire dealing with past heterosexual social experiences, and (c) an expectancy for heterosexual social success questionnaire. The overall results showed that high SSEI subjects made internal attributions in explaining past social successes and external attributions for past social failures with persons of the opposite sex. Low SSEI men, on the other hand, externalized the cause of their successes and assumed more personal responsibility for failure. Subjects who made stable (ability and task difficulty) attributions for past successes had greater expectancies for future success in heterosexual social relations than subjects who made unstable (effort and luck) attributions. These results were discussed in the context of attribution theory and cognitive approaches to depression, and in relation to cognitive factors that may underlie the etiology and treatment of shyness problems.