EFFECTS OF SELF-ESTEEM AND ONE'S OWN PERFORMANCES ON ATTRIBUTIONS OF OTHERS' SUCCESS OR FAILURE

Abstract

This study aims at examining the effects of self-esteem and Ss' own performances on attributions of others' success or failure. Ss were sixty female undergraduates, whose self-esteem scores were high (H-SEs) or low (L-SEs). Half of the Ss in each SE group were made to succeed in anagram tasks and the other Ss were made to fail. Ss attributed their own performances on five factors: ability, effort, task difficulty, luck, and physical and mental conditions. Then the Ss informed of performances of four stimulus persons (SPs) and asked to attribute them.Major findings were as follows.1. After Ss experienced failure, L-SEs attributed SPs' success more intensely to internal factors than H-SEs, while the inverse relation. ship was found as to attributions of SPs' failure. This finding suggested that H-SEs made selfserving attributions, while L-SEs degraded themselves after failure.2. The interaction between self-esteem and SPs' performances was not significant when Ss succeeded.3. Generally SPs' performaces were attrihuted more desirably than those of Ss.