Interpersonal Attributions Research Articles

Responses of staff towards people with mild to moderate intellectual disability who behave aggressively: a cognitive emotional analysis.

Traditionally, research into interactions between staff and adults with an intellectual disability who engage in challenging behaviour has been carried out within a behavioural paradigm. Recent work has begun to examine cognitive factors. The majority of this research has drawn upon Weiner's attributional model of helping behaviour. Moreover, staff responses have usually been investigated in relation to client vignettes of challenging behaviour. The present study involved 38 staff who worked with frequently aggressive clients and its aims were twofold: (1) to compare different methods of examining the cognitive and emotional responses of staff to aggression; namely, descriptive vignettes and real incidents of aggression which staff could recall; and (2) to attempt to replicate previous findings supportive of Weiner's model with a new carer group (day centre staff). When staff responses were compared across the hypothetical and real scenarios, using a series of one-way analyses of variance, it was revealed that staff experienced more negative emotions in response to the real incidents of aggression. The present study produced little evidence in support of Weiner's model. However, it was found that staff perceptions of the aggressive clients were linked to their cognitive and emotional responses to the aggression. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are considered, and the possible role played by interpersonal attributions in mediating staff responses to aggression is discussed.

Effects of interpersonal control, perspective taking, and attributions on older mothers' and adult daughters' satisfaction with their helping relationships.

Older mother-adult daughter dyads (N = 44) were interviewed separately about 3 variables hypothesized to affect satisfaction with the help provided to mothers by their daughters: feelings of interpersonal control, perspective-taking abilities, and attributions made about the self and other dyad member during positive and negative helping interactions. The most important predictors of partner satisfaction were mothers' and daughters' ability to accurately perceive the partner's feelings about the helping relationship and their feelings of interpersonal control. The most salient predictors of mothers' and daughters' own satisfaction were the attributions they made about the partner during a negative helping situation and their feelings of interpersonal control. These findings underscore the importance of considering interpersonal psychological variables in research concerned with helping relationships in later life.

Effects of interpersonal control, perspective taking, and attributions on older mothers' and adult daughters' satisfaction with their helping relationships.

Effects of interpersonal control, perspective taking, and attributions on older mothers' and adult daughters' satisfaction with their helping relationships.

Dyadic Communication Relationships in Organizations: An Attribution/Expectancy Approach

Research in organizational communication has examined the structure and content of interaction, but has paid little attention to research traditions outside the organizational sciences that explore the social-psychological interconnections between relationship development and interaction. In this paper we draw upon and extend those traditions to develop a model of how communication relationships develop within organizational dyads. The proposed model examines organization-based communication relationships through a synthesis of theoretical perspectives on communication richness, relational communication, interpersonal attribution, and social expectancy. We also call upon precepts of structuration theory to embed these microlevel processes in an organizational context. The relational outcome in the model is “interactional richness,” a dyad-level construct that assesses the extent to which communication within the dyad is high in shared meaning. Model antecedents are aspects of interaction through which communicators reciprocally define their relationships, including relational message properties, message patterns that emerge over time, and relational perceptions. We propose that these communication properties and behaviors give rise to relationship attributions. We then incorporate processes of expectancy confirmation and violation to explain how specific communication encounters lead individuals to reformulate attributions regarding the status of a given relationship. Research propositions articulate how attribution/expectancy processes mediate between relational communication behavior and relationship development outcomes. We also develop propositions addressing how relational communication behavior is influenced by macrolevel factors, including hierarchy, structure, and culture. In a concluding section we discuss the model's potential contribution to research and practice, address its limitations, and offer recommendations for future research aimed at testing its embedded hypotheses.

The impact of perceived material wealth and perceiver personality on first impressions

This study examined how wealth cues and the social image concerns of the perceiver influence interpersonal attributions about others. American college students ( N=150) read vignettes that described a man or a woman in either an affluent or not so affluent home setting. They then evaluated the target person on 20 personal qualities and indicated their desire to have the target's lifestyle. The affluent target was evaluated as having more personal ability (e.g., intelligence, self-discipline), more sophisticated qualities (e.g., cultured, successful), and a more desirable lifestyle than the not so affluent target. However, an “affluent people are not nice” stereotype seemed to be evoked, as the affluent target was rated as less considerate of others (e.g., less kind, likable, honest) than the not so affluent person. The appearance of affluence, at least in the American culture, is a powerful and unmistakable social testament to a person's ability, sophistication, and considerateness. The impact of personality differences in self-monitoring, social identity, and materialism were small relative to the impact of affluence cues.

Emergence of Organizational Attributions: The Role of a Shared Cognitive Schema

Daft and Weick (1984) suggest that individual-level interpretations of top strategic managers can be expected to converge into an organizational interpretation because managers use identical cognitive schemata when making their personal interpretations. The primary purpose of this paper is to adapt the well-accepted interpersonal attribution schema to an organizational context to determine whether Daft and Weick's convergence argument is plausible. We conclude that the common phenomena of informational equivocality and bias make the existence of shared schemata a necessary but not sufficient condition for the convergence of interpretations. Therefore, studies in the organizational literature which rely on the convergence argument fail to sufficiently establish a linkage between individual cognition and organizational action.

Emergence of organizational attributions: The role of a shared cognitive schema

Daft and Weick (1984) suggest that individual-level interpretations of top strategic managers can be expected to converge into an organizational interpretation because managers use identical cognitive schemata when making their personal interpretations. The primary purpose of this paper is to adapt the well-accepted interpersonal attribution schema to an organizational context to determine whether Daft and Weick's convergence argument is plausible. We conclude that the common phenomena of informational equivocality and bias make the existence of shared schemata a necessary but not sufficient condition for the convergence of interpretations. Therefore, studies in the organizational literature which rely on the convergence argument fail to sufficiently establish a linkage between individual cognition and organizational action.

Is it always a matter of perspective? Construct differentiation and variability in attributions about compliance gaining

This study investigates whether attributions made while observing compliance‐gaining interactions always are a matter of perspective. We propose that Construct Differentiation moderates the effects of perspective on causal judgments, such that highly differentiated individuals are more responsive than less differentiated persons to information from interaction that their psychological perspective makes salient. Participants viewed three videotaped compliance‐gaining interactions, one each while taking the perspective of the message source, the message target, and a third‐party observer. Then they rated causes for the target's actions and the target's intent. As predicted, Construct Differentiation was positively associated with intrapersonal variability in ratings of causal judgments across the three perspectives, and positively associated with actor/observer differences when taking the perspective of message source versus target. Implications for interpersonal communication, constructivism, and attribution theories are discussed.

Relative Importance of Intercultural, Interpersonal, and Psychopathological Attributions in Judging Critical Incidents by Multicultural Counselors

Journal of Multicultural Counseling and DevelopmentVolume 18, Issue 3 p. 106-117 Relative Importance of Intercultural, Interpersonal, and Psychopathological Attributions in Judging Critical Incidents by Multicultural Counselors Kelvin Mwaba, Assistant Professor Kelvin Mwaba: is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zambia.Search for more papers by this authorPaul Pedersen, Professor Paul Pedersen: is a professor in the School of Education at Syracuse University, New York.Search for more papers by this author Kelvin Mwaba, Assistant Professor Kelvin Mwaba: is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zambia.Search for more papers by this authorPaul Pedersen, Professor Paul Pedersen: is a professor in the School of Education at Syracuse University, New York.Search for more papers by this author First published: July 1990 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1912.1990.tb00440.xCitations: 3 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume18, Issue3July 1990Pages 106-117 RelatedInformation

Age, Exchange, and the Attribution of Power

Abstract Dowd (1975) used social exchange theory to analyze interactions in nonfamily, nonfriendship situations between persons of different ages in industrial societies like that of the United States. One important effect (dependent variable) to be explained in such situations is the interpersonal attribution of power. The argument that Dowd proposed to explain this effect emphasizes two determinants (independent variables): objective power (exchange ratio) and age as a status characteristic. The study reported here tests experimentally the implications of the argument. The results, based on a scenario presented to American undergraduates, indicate partial support for Dowd's argument. In assessing these findings, methodological differences between Dowd's research and the present study are noted, and previous research on the effects of “vividness” in interpersonal inferences is discussed.

Interpersonal constructs and friendship form and structure

Abstract Two studies examined the relationships between indices of interpersonal construct development and friendship form and structure. In the first study respondents listed activities that they shared with two friends and wrote free-response accounts about why they shared these particular activities with their friends. The accounts were content analyzed. Subsequent analyses showed that both interpersonal construct differentiation and abstractness were positively related to the number of interpersonal attributions made about friendships. The second study examined the relationship between construct differentiation and structural characteristics of a person's friendship network. Initial correlation analyses showed that construct differentiation was associated with somewhat more segmented friendship networks. Further analyses showed that this effect was limited to ties between friends beyond the inner core. Together the studies suggest that interpersonal construct development is associated with qualitative...

Attribution in Social and Parasocial Relationships

This study examined social and parasocial interaction from interpersonal attribution perspectives. Parasocial interaction is a perceived interpersonal relationship on the part of a television viewer with a mass media persona. We proposed that attributional confidence associated with parasocial interaction would mirror that resulting from social interaction and that personal construct theory and uncertainty reduction theory might add to knowledge about the nature of attributional confidence. Soap-opera-viewing college students (N = 105) completed questionnaires. Analysis revealed that, similar to social relationships, parasocial relationships with favorite soap opera characters were based, to some extent, on reduction of uncertainty and the ability to predict accurately the feelings and attitudes of the persona. The discussion focuses on implications of these findings for uncertainty reduction theory and personal construct theory.

Attributions in the Advice Columns

This study assessed the attributional dimensionality of explanations, largely for interpersonal problems, that occur naturally in the newspaper advice columns. We applied two definitions of controllability, along with stability, locus, and actor observer ratings, to 145 attributions extracted from the "Ann Landers" and "Dear Abby" columns by Schoeneman and Rubanowitz (1985). Controllability by subject (the person whose behavior is being explained) was confounded with locus, although controllability by anyone was independent of locus. Actors attributed their own problems to the enduring, willful behaviors of others (external, stable, controllable attributions). Observers did not attribute actors' problems to uncontrollable personality; they showed no attributional tendencies except a preference for stable attributions. We discuss the convergence of actor-observer effects with current research on interpersonal attributions and implications for future ratings of controllability.

Attribution and Adjustment to Relationship Termination

Although relationship dissolution is a fruitful context for field studies of attribution processes, only a handful of studies have been conducted and these have often produced contradictory results. This study analysed the written accounts of ex-partners from recently terminated premarital relationships. Type of attribution (self, other, interpersonal, external) was related to items representing the severity of the impact of the dissolution. Among other findings, evidence indicated that females whose relationships had been terminated longer were more likely to use interpersonal attributions and less likely to use other attributions when accounting for the break-up. It is argued that attribution following relationship termination should be viewed as an on-going process rather than as a singular event.

The Michill Adjective Ratings Scale (MARS): The differential social desirability of factors

The Michill Adjective Rating Scale (MARS) measures four relatively independent factors (unhappiness, extraversion, self-assertiveness, and productive-persistence) and has been used for studying interpersonal perception and attribution processes in both normal and abnormal populations. Although procedures for administering and scoring MARS, as well as the normative data, are available in published sources, information about the differential social desirability of the factors is being presented here for the first time in order to facilitate the experimental use of MARS in those clinical and psychosocial research settings in which the social desirability of factors has considerable influence on the interpretation and applicability of findings (N = 338).

Gender schemas and perceptions of speech style

This study examined Bem's Gender Schema Theory as it relates to communicator style. Participants who had completed the Bem Sex‐Role Inventory (N = 793) were presented with transcribed interpersonal exchanges in which one speaker's communication style was manipulated to appear either powerless or generic. Impressions of the speakers were recorded on a number of interpersonal attribution items. Although results failed to substantiate many of the predicted differences between sex‐typedand non‐sex‐typed persons’ perceptions of speakers’ power, two main effects for powerless speech were found: (1) speakers using powerless language were perceived to be less dominant than generic speakers, and (2) powerless speakers were perceived to be more competent than generic speakers. Implications of these findings for power issues and Gender Schema Theory are discussed.

Communication within Ongoing Intimate Relationships

An attempt is made to explore current notions regarding attribution processes within the framework of ongoing intimate relationships and to question whether such an attribution classification as the dispositional-situational dichotomy captures the complexities of cognitive functioning unique to intimate relating. The "interpersonal attribution" category is proposed as a means of refining and expanding current conceptualizations regarding attribution processes of actors and observers within dyadic units. The implications of the interpersonal attribution for relationship stability, conflict, and dissatisfaction are explored. Heuristic applications and questions for future attribution research are suggested.

Interpretation and explanation: Influences on communicative exchanges within intimate relationships

This paper is aimed at illuminating various implications of attribution‐making for a study of ongoing, intimate relationships. Explicit attributions are viewed as conscious, cognitive appraisals concerning why a communicative behavior has occurred. Implicit attributions are conceptualized more as tools of inference‐making intrinsic to the decoding process; as such, implicit attributions not only influence interpretation, explanation, and meaning‐assignment, but also mediate ongoing interpersonal message responses. It is argued that, while attribution concepts are quite relevant to various theories of interpersonal communication, the significance of attribution‐making within intimate dyadic interaction has been understated in communication research. Further analysis of attribution constructs employed by communicators—especially the interpersonal attribution category—might improve theory‐building in such areas as relational communication, communication conflict, metacommunication, and communication and affe...

The Functions of Attributions

Four functions that attributions fulfill for the attributor are catalogued and described. Explanatory attributions promote an understanding of the social world through implicit attribution theories; predictive attributions facilitate the development of expectations concerning the likelihood offuture events; egocentric attributions meet self needs and reduce anxiety; and interpersonal attributions provide for the communication of social identity information to others. The importance of considering the functions of attributions is considered, and the implications of the functions approach for attributional asymmetries, the causelreason distinction, and arguments regarding the accessibility of higher-order cognitive processes are noted.

Interpersonal Trust and Attributions of Source Credibility: Evaluations of a Political Figure in a Crisis

The events surrounding the Watergate affair “Saturday Night Massacre” provided a setting in which to assess (a) the applicability of the Jones and Davis acts-to-dispositions model of the attribution process in subjects' perceptions and evaluations of a key political figure in crisis (President Nixon), (b) the role of subjects' interpersonal trust on their attributions and evaluations, and (c) the utility of Giffin's proposed five factors of credibility of a source. The results supported the hypothesis that (a) behaviors, intentions, and dispositional attributions would be different but related factors and (b) out-of-role intentions would be more predictive than in-role intentions of dispositional attributions. Partial support was found for the hypothesis that high trusters would perceive the President and his behaviors more favorably than low trusters (they attributed less negative intentions and attributed more favorable evaluative and expertness-activity dispositions). Although high and low trusters apparently perceived the President's behavior similarly, they drew different inferences. Evidence for collapsing Giffin's five factors regarding credibility of a source into two, Evaluation and Expertness-Activity, was provided.