Investigates the relationship between perceived locus of injustice (blaming either individuals or institutions for injustice) and Kohlberg's moral judgment typology, while controlling the effects of social desirability. Finds that Kohlberg's "stage 4" individuals (with "law and order" orientations) show the strongest disposition to blame…

The effect of performance evaluations on expectations for future performances is studied using an extension of a Bayesian model. Whereas the model was originally limited to the cases where person C is both an actor and an observer, in the present extension these become particular cases of the model. (Author/RD)

Internal locus of control and positive outcome subjects attributed responsibility for their test results to internal factors, while external and negative outcome subjects tended toward external causations. Ability and luck components were rated in accord with the Weiner model classification, but the effort and task components were not. (Author/SJL)

It was hypothesized that true externals and those who adopt an external locus of control as a defense differ in the amount of personal responsibility they accept for task outcomes. Defensive externals varied in their causal attributions as a function of task outcome, whereas nondefensive externals did not. (Editor/SJL)

Fifth-grade boys solved sets of achievement-related puzzles, working in pairs in which one succeeded and one failed. Results showed the reward structure of the performance setting was an important determinant of self and interpersonal evaluations. Competitive conditions caused self-punitive behavior for failure outcomes and some ego-enhancing…

College students (N=308) were asked to function in a judgmental activity assumed to correspond to the diagnostic activity of categorizing a target person as "mentally ill." Analysis of scores shows subjects regard the target person as more negative and more "maladjusted" when the interviewer enacts expected appropriate professional interest.…

Investigates the effects of situational constraint and type of causal explanation on the degree to which described behavior would be perceived as evidencing "mental illness" and the degree to which it would lead to social rejection. (Editor/RK)

Reviews issues related to student motivation, describing responses to an assignment in a university developmental counseling course regarding motivation. Reports that most students attributed failures or successes to their own actions. Discusses theories on motivation and their applications in the classroom. Suggests that self-esteem and…

Studies based on an individual-difference model of student learning are reviewed. The "fitting" of conceptual models of student learning to atypical individual-similarity data structures is discussed, and an experimental categorization for such structures is outlined. Use of a locus model is also examined. It is argued that conceptual models of…

Compares attributional models presented in depression and marital literatures by examining simultaneously their prediction of depressive symptoms and marital distress with 150 married couples. Findings show that a model including paths from depressogenic and distress-maintaining marital attributions to both depressive symptoms and marital distress…

Used vignettes to investigate children's integration of information on behavior, body weight, and sex when forming peer impressions. Found that positively behaving peers were liked more and attributed more positive traits than negatively behaving peers. Also found that boys, but not girls, believed that peers would evaluate average weight,…

Teachers' explanations for students' low achievement were reliably classified using Cooper and Good's (1983) attributional coding system. Teachers most frequently attributed low achievement to typical pattern of low effort. They viewed acquired student characteristics (low motivation, poor work habits) as more important than either teacher…

Assessed causal attributions for losing perceived by high school students (N=150). Subjects responded to questionnaire comprising three categories of activities (sports, academic, social) in which they had not won or achieved desired outcome. Found that adolescent girls indicated significantly more internal attributions and boys more external…

Discusses the Just World Scale (JWS), a construct which measures the attributional processes allowing individuals to believe people get what they deserve. Reports findings from a study involving 375 undergraduates that re-examined the JWS factor structure and internal consistency. Reveals significant gender differences with men showing a stronger…

Discusses the self-serving bias effect and its motivational explanation, which suggests individuals minimize other group member's responsibility for success and maximize it for failure. Reports findings of a study, involving 96 undergraduates, that demonstrates only partial self-serving bias. Considers how minimal feedback on attributions…