Abstract
The possibility, that people have a need to self-enhance or self-protect via their attributions of causality following success or failure was examined by experimentally inducing more positive or more negative affect following each. A sample of 60 people who succeeded and 60 people who failed an anagram task randomly received positive ego-enhancing feedback, negative ego-diminishing feedback, or no feedback, concerning a prior unrelated task. Results indicated that when affect had been increased there was a reduced tendency to attribute recent success to internal factors (ability' or effort) and a reduced tendency to attribute recent failure to external factors (luck or task difficulty). When affect had been reduced, however, there was a greater tendency' to attribute successful outcome internally and failure externally. The results are interpreted as supporting the existence of a systematic relationship among ego-relevant feedback, affect, and self-attribution following success and failure such that a motivational bias is operative.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
