Causal Attributions and Affective Responses to Provocative Female Partner Behavior by Abusive and Nonabusive Males

Abstract

The present study examined the effects of the degree of female partner provocation on cognitive attributions and affective responses in verbally abusive and nonabusive college males. In Phase 1 (N = 116), subjects listened to audiotapes of hypothetical dating situations in which the female partner's behavior was nonprovocative or moderately provocative; in Phase 2 (N = 105), the female partner's behavior was nonprovocative or highly provocative. The major hypothesis was that abusive males would make greater negative intent and responsibility attributions and report more powerful feelings of jealousy, rejection, and abandonment in response to moderately and highly provocative partner behavior but not in response to nonprovocative partner behavior than would nonabusive males. Results from Phase 1 showed that abusive males reported reliably greater negative attributions and feelings of jealousy, rejection, and abandonment in response to moderately provocative partner behavior than did nonabusive males. No group differences were associated with nonprovocative partner behavior. Results from Phase 2 showed that abusive males attributed greater negative intent and feelings of rejection and abandonment to both highly provocative and nonprovocative partner behavior than did nonabusive males. Negative attributions and feelings of jealousy, rejection, and abandonment increased reliably from moderately provocative to highly provocative female behavior for abusive and nonabusive males, who differed reliably from each other. Implications for the assessment and treatment of abusive men were discussed.