It has been suggested that egotistical attributions for success and failure are mediated by the affective reactions resulting from achievement outcomes. To establish the motivational impact of failure-related affect on subsequent ego-defensive attributions, an excitation transfer paradigm was used to manipulate the negative feelings elicited by…

This study replicates a previous study in order to reexamine the development of sex biases in middle childhood and adolescence. Four hundred public school students in grades 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 (200 of each sex) assigned desirable and undesirable traits to girls and boys. Twenty-nine traits (15 desirable and 14 undesirable) were selected from the…

Research has found that differential attributional styles exist between depressed and nondepressed populations. Depressed (N=32) and nondepressed (N=32) undergraduate female students were selected on the basis of scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist. Participants performed a key press task where the…

Attribution theory research has been criticized for minimizing the influences of social structure variables on individuals. The role of social factors in attributions was explored with 90 females and 50 males who, after reading interviews between police and assault victims, made attributions of blame about different types of assault. The…

Sex and ethnic differences in the use of social power were investigated using role theoretical and attributional perspectives. Performance and self-attribution processes of power usage were related to ascribed versus achieved role characteristics. One hundred and sixty subjects, equal numbers of Chicano and Anglo males and females, participated as…

Teacher responses to problem student behavior was studied. Responses were coded for teachers' attributional inferences, concerning both problem students and their own ability to handle the problems. Attibutional inferences differed according to problem ownership. For problems owned primarily by teachers themselves, students were seen as acting…

The relationships of children's perceptions of the causes of academic success or failure to achievement behavior and to reading ability were examined using two measures: Crandall's Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Scale (IAR), and a measure of students' causal attributions relating to performance of a single, specific task. Subjects were…

The loss, deterioration, or atrophy of internal bonding has been found in large segments of the youth population; such youths are characterized by apathy and aimlessness regarding major life values and goals such as education, vocation, individuality, and social affirmation. Social disconnectedness in terms of the loss and deterioration of…

Systematic investigations have verified the existence of a number of behavioral manifestations of the "Type A" behavior pattern. For example, brief exposure to salient uncontrollable stress has led to enhanced performance by Type A's on a subsequent task, whereas prolonged exposure has lead to performance deterioration. The ongoing experiences of…

This paper discusses the association between achievement motivation and cultural differences. It maintains that the culturally different can be motivated to achieve if provided the proper motivational context. Earlier traditions for stimulating achievement motivation in the classroom are reviewed, including changing the person, changing the…

Socio-psychological research concerning the relationship between attributions and coping with negative events unrelated to marriage suggests two constructs, blame and perceived control, which may influence conflict resolution in marriage. Married women (N=32) were interviewed in an investigation of attributions of control and blame for marital…

A study was conducted to determine how males and females were perceived when using identical dominant behaviors. The subjects, 360 college students, viewed one of six stimulus drawings of groups of four seated people and indicated their attributions of dominant behavior on 22 bipolar perceptual scales. Analyses were conducted to create and compare…

Very little is known about discrimination against the handicapped in employment situations and the processes by which it occurs. Mature students (N=72) in personnel and behavioral science courses evaluated epileptic or non-epileptic, male or female applicants for an auto sales or receptionist position. Subjects reviewed an applicant's resume…

This study examines the interactive roles of social, cultural, and cognitive developmental factors in determining children's moral and achievement judgments. A total of 1485 male and female Iranian children/students of diverse social background (ranging in age from 4-18) served as subjects. Subjects were asked to evaluate (reward/punishment) the…

It was hypothesized, following attribution theory, that psychological closeness to the perpetrators of delinquency would lead to its being explained in terms of external factors. Consistent with these hypotheses, the 15-year-old subjects endorsed less individualistic explanations and stressed the social functions of delinquency. (Author/LMO)