Effects of Causal Attributions on Coworker Interactions: A Social Motivation Perspective

Abstract

Recent restructuring in organizations has led to a greater interdependence among coworkers; however, coworker interactions are not well understood. The purpose of this research was to apply Weiner's (1995b) theory of social conduct to examine coworker interactions following a poor work performance. Four studies were conducted to examine the effects of ability and effort attributions for a worker's poor performance on coworkers' thoughts, feelings, and interactions. In Study 1, ability and effort attributions were manipulated using scenarios. Scales (7-point) were used to assess expectations of future success, responsibility judgments, anger, sympathy, and prosocial and antisocial coworker interactions. Similar methodology was used in Study 2 to examine a broader range of coworker interactions. In Study 3, participants interacted with a confederate playing the role of a poor-performing worker and verbal discredits about the worker were measured. In Study 4, the mediational role of responsibility judgments, anger, and sympathy on coworker interactions was examined using structural equation modeling on a sample of coworkers working in an organization. Significant findings from all 4 studies support the hypothesis that, following poor performance, the reason matters regarding the social motivation of coworkers. These results are discussed in relation to Weiner's (1995b) theory of social conduct and coworker interactions.