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Attributions
Kinds of Attributions Terms modified by Attributions Selected AbstractsEMPLOYEE ATTRIBUTIONS OF THE "WHY" OF HR PRACTICES: THEIR EFFECTS ON EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS, AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTIONPERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2008LISA H. NISHII The construct of human resource (HR) attributions is introduced. We argue that the attributions that employees make about the reasons why management adopts the HR practices that it does have consequences for their attitudes and behaviors, and ultimately, unit performance. Drawing on the strategic HR literature, we propose a typology of 5 HR-attribution dimensions. Utilizing data collected from a service firm, we show that employees make varying attributions for the same HR practices, and that these attributions are differentially associated with commitment and satisfaction. In turn, we show that these attitudes become shared within units and that they are related to unit-level organizational citizenship behaviors and customer satisfaction. Findings and implications are discussed. [source] ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS AND KNOWLEDGE ATTRIBUTIONSTHE PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 238 2010Maria Aloni We discuss the ,problem of convergent knowledge', an argument presented by J. Schaffer in favour of contextualism about knowledge attributions, and against the idea that knowledge- wh can be simply reduced to knowledge of the proposition answering the question. Schaffer's argument centrally involves alternative questions of the form ,whether A or B'. We propose an analysis of these on which the problem of convergent knowledge does not arise. While alternative questions can contextually restrict the possibilities relevant for knowledge attributions, what Schaffer's puzzle reveals is a pragmatic ambiguity in what ,knowing the answer' means: in his problematic cases, the subject knows only a partial answer to the question. This partial knowledge can be counted as adequate only on externalist grounds. [source] Beyond the Single-Person, Single-Insight Attribution in Understanding Entrepreneurial OpportunitiesENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 5 2007Dimo Dimov This article helps develop the creativity perspective within entrepreneurship in two ways. First, it elaborates on the nature of opportunity as a creative product. Rather than viewing opportunities as single insights, it suggests that they are emerging through the continuous shaping and development of (raw) ideas that are acted upon. Second, rather than attributing them to a particular individual, it highlights the contextual and social influences that affect the generation and shaping of ideas. This helps move entrepreneurship research beyond the single-person, single-insight attribution that currently permeates it. [source] What is Sium frigidumHand.-Mazz. (Umbelliferae)?FEDDES REPERTORIUM, Issue 5-6 2003M. G. Pimenov Professor Dr. A rare and enigmatic Chinese species, known as Apium ventricosumH. Boissieu and Sium frigidumHand.-Mazz. (the latter name is only used in current floristic literature), has been shown to be closer related to SinocarumH. Wolff ex Shan RenHwa & PuFaTing. This affinity, indicated recently by ITS sequence investigation, was confirmed by morphological analysis. Attribution of the species to Apium, Sium, or Chamaesium, was not confirmed by molecular and morphological data either. A new combination, Sinocarum ventricosum (H. Boissieu) Pimenov & Kljuykov, has been proposed. The isolated position of S. ventricosum within the genus Sinocarum is emphazised by separation of a new monotypic section, Sinocarum sect. ApiopsisPimenov & Kljuykov. Was ist Sium frigidumHand.-Mazz. (Umbelliferae)? Eine seltene und rätselhafte chinesische Art, bekannt als Apium ventricosumH. Boissieu und Sium frigidumHand.-Mazz. (letzterer Name wird in der aktuellen floristischen Literatur allein benutzt), scheint näher verwandt zu sein mit SinocarumH. Wolff ex Shan RenHwa & Pu FaTing. Diese neuerlich durch IST-Sequenzanalyse festgestellte Affinität wurde durch molekulare und morphologische Daten bestätigt. Der Einschluss der Art in die Gattungen Apium, Sium oder Chamaesium konnte nicht durch molekulare und morphologische Merkmale bestätigt werden. Es wird eine Neukombination: Sinocarum ventricosum (H. Boissieu) Pimenov & Kljuykov vorgeschlagen. Die isolierte Stellung von S. ventricosum innerhalb der Gattung Sinocarum wird durch die Aufstellung einer monotypischen Sektion, Sinocarum sect. ApiopsisPimenov & Kljuykov unterstrichen. [source] Attribution of investment performance: an analysis of Australian pooled superannuation funds*ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 1-2 2001David R. Gallagher This paper evaluates the market timing and security selection capabilities of Australian pooled superannuation funds over the eight-year period from January 1991 to December 1998. Evaluation of both components of investment performance is surprisingly scarce in the Australian literature despite active investment managers engaging in both market timing and security selection. The paper also evaluates performance for the three largest asset classes within diversified superannuation funds and their contribution to overall portfolio return. The importance of an accurately specified market portfolio proxy in the measurement of investment performance is demonstrated. This paper employs performance benchmarks that account for the multi-sector investment decisions of active investment managers in a manner that is consistent with their unique investment strategy. Consistent with U.S. literature, the empirical results indicate that Australian pooled superannuation funds do not exhibit significantly positive security selection or market timing skill. [source] The effect of somatic symptom attribution on the prevalence rate of depression and anxiety among nursing home patientsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF METHODS IN PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH, Issue 3 2005Martin Smalbrugge Abstract The validity of diagnostic psychiatric instruments for depression and anxiety disorders may be compromised among patients with complex physical illness and disability. The objective of this study was to determine the effect on the prevalence rate of depression and anxiety in a nursing home population of attributing somatic symptoms of depression and anxiety to either somatic or psychiatric disorder. Symptoms of major depression (MD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder (PD) were measured using the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN). Somatic symptoms of MD, GAD and PD were attributed to somatic causes when the interviewer was not sure about a psychiatric cause. To analyse the effect of this attribution on the prevalence rate of MD, GAD and PD, a sensitivity analysis was undertaken in which symptoms that were attributed to somatic causes were recoded as symptoms attributed to psychiatric disorder. Prevalence rates of MD, GAD and PD were calculated before and after recoding. The prevalence of MD after recoding rose from 7.5% to 8.1%. The prevalence of GAD did not change. The prevalence of PD rose from 1.5% to 1.8%. Attribution of somatic symptoms to either somatic or psychiatric disorder when the interviewer was not sure about a psychiatric cause of the somatic symptoms had only a very modest effect on the prevalence rate of major depression, generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder in a nursing home population. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Influence of Anger-arousal Level on Attribution of Hostile Intent and Problem Solving Capability in an Individual with a Mild Intellectual Disability and a History of Difficulties with AggressionJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 1 2006Kenneth M. A. MacMahon Background, Recent studies have suggested that cognitive biases may play an important mediating role in aggressive outbursts from people with mild intellectual disabilities (IDs). Essentially, some individuals may frequently perceive other people as acting towards them in a hostile fashion. This biased perception may develop through repeated adverse experiences, and may make them more likely to respond, likewise, in an aggressive manner. These studies have led to the development of a cognitive behavioural model of aggression, incorporating factors both intrinsic and extrinsic to the individual. This study aimed to explore one facet of this model: a putative relationship between anger-arousal level, problem-solving ability and perception of hostile intent in others. Method, Single-case methodology was utilized, and a 44-year-old man with a mild ID and a history of difficulties with aggression participated. A series of vignettes, containing potentially provocative social interactions, were read to the participant. His perception of hostile intent, and suggestions of possible behavioural responses were recorded as dependent variables. Anger-arousal was manipulated, through autobiographical recall, as a dependent variable. Results, Although not conclusive, results indicate that anger-arousal may act in an interactive fashion to increase perception of hostile intent. No effect of anger-arousal was observed on problem-solving ability; however, floor-effects in the task used may provide an explanation for this. Conclusions, A high level of anger-arousal may exacerbate the probability of a frequently aggressive individual perceiving others as acting in a hostile manner. However, future research should take the limitations of this study into account, and continue development of a cognitive model of frequent aggression in those with a mild ID. [source] News Images, Race, and Attribution in the Wake of Hurricane KatrinaJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2010Eran N. Ben-Porath This study looks at the effect of news images and race on the attribution of responsibility for the consequences of Hurricane Katrina. Participants, Black and White, read the same news story about the hurricane and its aftermath, manipulated to include images of White victims, Black victims, or no images at all. Participants were then asked who they felt was responsible for the humanitarian disaster after the storm. White respondents expressed less sense of government responsibility when the story included victims' images. For Black respondents this effect did not occur. Images did not affect attribution of responsibility to New Orleans' residents themselves. These findings are interpreted to support the expectations of framing theory with the images serving as episodic framing mechanisms. Les images médiatiques, la race et l'attribution à la suite de l'ouragan Katrina Eran N. Ben-Porath & Lee K. Shaker Cette étude explore l'effet des images médiatiques et de la race sur l'attribution d'une responsabilité quant aux conséquences de l'ouragan Katrina. Les participants, Noirs et Blancs, ont lu la même nouvelle concernant l'ouragan et ses suites, l'histoire ayant été manipulée pour inclure des images de victimes blanches, des images de victimes noires ou aucune image du tout. On a ensuite demandé aux participants de dire qui était selon eux responsable du désastre humanitaire ayant suivi la tempête. Les répondants blancs ont exprimé moins d'impressions de responsabilité gouvernementale lorsque l'histoire incluait des photos de victimes. Cet effet n'est pas apparu chez les participants noirs. Les images n'ont pas eu d'effets sur l'attribution de responsabilité aux résidents de la Nouvelle-Orléans. Ces résultats sont interprétés de manière à appuyer les attentes de la théorie du cadrage, les images servant de mécanismes de cadrage épisodique. Mots clés : attribution, race, cadrage de responsabilité, ouragan Katrina Nachrichtenbilder, Rasse und Zuschreibung im Fall Hurrikan Katrina Eran N. Ben-Porath & Lee K. Shaker Diese Studie betrachtet die Wirkung von Nachrichtenbildern und Rasse auf die Zuschreibung von Verantwortlichkeit für die Konsequenzen von Hurrikan Katrina. Die Teilnehmer schwarzer und weißer Hautfarbe lasen die gleichen Nachrichten über den Hurrikan und dessen Folgen. Die Bilder zeigten entweder weiße Opfer, schwarze Opfer oder es wurde auf eine Bebilderung verzichtet. Die Teilnehmer wurden dann gefragt, wen sie für die humanitäre Katastrophe nach dem Sturm verantwortlich machten. Weiße Teilnehmer zogen die Regierung weniger in die Verantwortung, wenn Bilder von Opfern gezeigt wurden. Für schwarze Teilnehmer zeigte sich dieser Effekt nicht. Die Bilder beeinflussten nicht die Zuschreibung von Verantwortlichkeit auf die Einwohner von New Orleans selbst. Diese Ergebnisse werden im Sinne der Annahmen der Framing-Theorie interpretiert, bei denen Bilder als episodische Framing-Mechanismen dienen. [source] Attributed disability: a spot of local difficultyJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2006George Peat PhD MCSP Abstract There has been an exponential growth of publications relating to the development and application of health measurement instruments. Condition-specific measures have formed a large part of this trend. This article questions the rationale behind the concept of condition-specific disability, a common domain in such measures, taking musculoskeletal medicine as an example. It argues that physical functions are seldom unique to a specific condition and that measurement specificity therefore relies on attributing functional consequences to the health condition of interest. The presence of multi-morbidity (musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal), and the influence of personal and environmental factors, pose problems for attribution that have seldom been empirically investigated. Furthermore, attributing disability to a specific health condition of interest potentially limits insights into important interventions such as managing co-morbid interactions and targeting barriers in the physical, social, and attitudinal environment. Efforts to identify regionally relevant item content and to measure participation in daily life are a step in the right direction. Attribution is not needed for either. [source] Attribution and other problems in assessing the returns to agricultural R&DAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2-3 2001Julian M. Alston Abstract Estimated rates of return to research are distorted by problems of attributing the credit for particular research results, or for particular research-induced productivity increases, among research expenditures undertaken at different times, in different places, and by different agencies. A comprehensive assessment of the evidence from past economic evaluations of the returns to agricultural R&D indicates that studies generally report high rates of return, with enormous variation among studies, but that much of this evidence has been tainted by inadequate attention to attribution problems. This paper raises these concerns in a general way and illustrates their importance with reference to two particular types of attribution problem. First, we consider the problem of accounting for locational spillovers in attributing varietal-improvement technology among research performers, using US wheat varieties as an example. Second, we consider the temporal aspects of the attribution problem using the specification of research lags in econometric models to illustrate the problem of attributing aggregate productivity gains to research expenditures made at different times. [source] Attribution of tumour lethality and estimation of the time to onset of occult tumours in the absence of cause-of-death InformationJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 2 2000H. Ahn A new statistical approach is developed for estimating the carcinogenic potential of drugs and other chemical substances used by humans. Improved statistical methods are developed for rodent tumorigenicity assays that have interval sacrifices but not cause-of-death data. For such experiments, this paper proposes a nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation method for estimating the distributions of the time to onset of and the time to death from the tumour. The log-likelihood function is optimized using a constrained direct search procedure. Using the maximum likelihood estimators, the number of fatal tumours in an experiment can be imputed. By applying the procedure proposed to a real data set, the effect of calorie restriction is investigated. In this study, we found that calorie restriction delays the tumour onset time significantly for pituitary tumours. The present method can result in substantial economic savings by relieving the need for a case-by-case assignment of the cause of death or context of observation by pathologists. The ultimate goal of the method proposed is to use the imputed number of fatal tumours to modify Peto's International Agency for Research on Cancer test for application to tumorigenicity assays that lack cause-of-death data. [source] A comparison of mothers' and fathers' experience of parenting stress and attributions for parent,child interaction outcomesOCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2003AccOT, SROT, Susan A. Esdaile Ph.D. Abstract Parents of children with disabilities are vulnerable to parenting stress, which may place them at physical and psychological risk. However, it is not clear whether fathers experience stress differently to mothers, or whether their experiences are reported less frequently. Additionally, there is little reported on the relationships and gender differences between mothers' and fathers' attributions for parent,child interaction outcomes. Parenting stress was assessed in this study using Abidin's (1990) Parenting Stress Index (PSI), and parenting attributions were assessed using the original (Bugental et al., 1989; Bugental and Shennum, 1984), and modified versions of the Parenting Attribution Test, also known as the Child Interaction Survey (CIS) (M-CIS: Esdaile and Greenwood, 1995b). Participants were 53 mothers and 25 fathers of children with disabilities. Having a child with a disability was associated with elevated scores on the PSI; some gender differences were found. Only one significant outcome was found on the assessment of parenting attributions. Thus, the findings suggest that further research is indicated to explore differences in mothers' and fathers' experiences of parenting stress, and the assessment of parenting attributions. The fact that having a child with a disability was associated with elevated scores on the PSI for both mothers and fathers indicates the importance of considering stress management as an integral part of occupational therapy programmes that involve parents of children with special needs. Therapists also need to consider possible gender differences when planning stress management programmes including both mothers and fathers of children with disabilities. Copyright © 2003 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Differences in Patterns of Symptom Attribution in Diagnosing Schizophrenia Between African American and Non-African American CliniciansAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2006Steven J. Trierweiler PhD The authors examined clinician race differences in symptom attribution patterns in diagnosing psychiatric inpatients from a low-income, African American community. Different decision models were applied to patients based on clinician race. African American clinicians diagnosed schizophrenia with higher odds than non-African American clinicians when they believed hallucinations were present and avoided that diagnosis with lower odds when they considered substance abuse issues. Non-African American clinicians usually related the attribution of negative symptoms to the diagnosis of schizophrenia while African American clinicians did not make this linkage. The study highlights the need for more detailed examination of cultural influences on diagnostic judgments. [source] Not Afraid to Blame: The Neglected Role of Blame Attribution in Medical Consumerism and Some Implications for Health PolicyTHE MILBANK QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2002Marsha Rosenthal Starting roughly a quarter century ago, american medicine began a dramatic transformation from a system dominated by clinicians' decision making and professional norms to one in which medical care is expected to reflect the preferences and choices of individual consumers. This growing aspiration toward "medical consumerism" began during the 1970s with a set of popular social movements devoted to giving patients more control over their own treatment and a more informed choice of their physicians (Rodwin 1994). Although the seeds of consumerism were only haphazardly sown and incompletely germinated (Hibbard and Weeks 1987), by the end of the decade they had grown into a noticeable presence in the health care system (Haug and Lavin 1981). During the 1980s, these shifts in popular attitudes were reinforced by public policies and private practices intended to give consumers greater incentives to learn more about their medical choices and to exercise these choices in a cost-conscious manner (Arnould, Rich, and White 1993). [source] Some Correspondences and Similarities of Shamanism and Cognitive Science: Interconnectedness, Extension of Meaning, and Attribution of Mental StatesANTHROPOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS, Issue 2 2002Timothy L. Hubbard Correspondences and similarities between ideas in shamanism and ideas in contemporary cognitive science are considered. The importance of interconnectedness in the web of life worldview characteristic of shamanism and in connectionist models of semantic memory in cognitive science, and the extension of meaning to elements of the natural world in shamanism and indistributed cognition, are considered. Cognitive consequences of such an extension (e.g., use of representativeness and intentional stance heuristics, magical thinking, social attribution errors, and social in-group/out-group differences) are discussed. It is suggested that attributions of mental states, beliefs, and desires to a computer on the basis of behavioral measures (e.g., the Turing test) is consistent with the extension of meaning and intentionality to nonhuman elements of the natural world in shamanism. In general, the existence of such correspondencesand similarities suggests that elements of shamanism may reflect cognitive structures and processes that are also used by nonshamans and in nonshamanic settings. [source] Autoantibodies and neuropsychiatric events at the time of systemic lupus erythematosus diagnosis: Results from an international inception cohort studyARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 3 2008J. G. Hanly Objective To examine, in an inception cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, the association between neuropsychiatric (NP) events and anti,ribosomal P (anti-P), antiphospholipid (lupus anticoagulant [LAC], anticardiolipin), anti,,2-glycoprotein I, and anti,NR2 glutamate receptor antibodies. Methods NP events were identified using the American College of Rheumatology case definitions and clustered into central/peripheral and diffuse/focal events. Attribution of NP events to SLE was determined using decision rules of differing stringency. Autoantibodies were measured without knowledge of NP events or their attribution. Results Four hundred twelve patients were studied (87.4% female; mean ± SD age 34.9 ± 13.5 years, mean ± SD disease duration 5.0 ± 4.2 months). There were 214 NP events in 133 patients (32.3%). The proportion of NP events attributed to SLE varied from 15% to 36%. There was no association between autoantibodies and NP events overall. However, the frequency of anti-P antibodies in patients with central NP events attributed to SLE was 4 of 20 (20%), versus 3 of 107 (2.8%) in patients with other NP events and 24 of 279 (8.6%) in those with no NP events (P = 0.04). Among patients with diffuse NP events, 3 of 11 had anti-P antibodies (27%), compared with 4 of 111 patients with other NP events (3.6%) and 24 of 279 of those with no NP events (8.6%) (P = 0.02). Specific clinical,serologic associations were found between anti-P and psychosis attributed to SLE (P = 0.02) and between LAC and cerebrovascular disease attributed to SLE (P = 0.038). There was no significant association between other autoantibodies and NP events. Conclusion Clinically distinct NP events attributed to SLE and occurring around the time of diagnosis were found to be associated with anti-P antibodies and LAC. This suggests that there are different autoimmune pathogenetic mechanisms, although low sensitivity limits the clinical application of testing for these antibodies. [source] Presidential Attribution as an Agency of Prime Ministerial Critique in a Parliamentary Democracy: The Case of Tony BlairBRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2004Michael Foley The allusion to presidentialism in relation to the status, role and meaning of a prime minister's position is almost invariably skewed towards positive, purposive and expansive interpretations of strong executive authority. This study examines the negative and critical dimensions of the presidential attribution, and analyses the nature of its appeal as a device for organising and rationalising political dissent. The incidence and conditions of its usage in political argument during Tony Blair's premiership are reviewed. As a consequence, seven strands of usage are identified in the selection of presidentialism as a focus of opposition. In assessing the relative strengths and weaknesses of the presidential critique, the analysis not only shows its utility in drawing upon other sources of complaint, but also demonstrates its limitations in the delegitimation of executive authority. [source] Hostile Attribution of Intent and Aggressive Behavior: A Meta-AnalysisCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2002Bram Orobio De Castro A meta-analytic review was conducted to explain divergent findings on the relation between children's aggressive behavior and hostile attribution of intent to peers. Forty-one studies with 6,017 participants were included in the analysis. Ten studies concerned representative samples from the general population, 24 studies compared nonaggressive to extremely aggressive nonreferred samples, and 7 studies compared nonreferred samples with children referred for aggressive behavior problems. A robust significant association between hostile attribution of intent and aggressive behavior was found. Effect sizes differed considerably between studies. Larger effects were associated with more severe aggressive behavior, rejection by peers as one of the selection criteria, inclusion of 8- to-12-year-old participants, and absence of control for intelligence. Video and picture presentation of stimuli were associated with smaller effect sizes than was audio presentation. Staging of actual social interactions was associated with the largest effects. The importance of understanding moderators of effect size for theory development is stressed. [source] Opportunism in Capital Budget Recommendations: The Effects of Past Performance and Its Attributions,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2001Joanna L. Ho Abstract This study uses an experiment to examine the separate and combined effects of managers' loss aversion and their causal attributions about their divisions' performance on tendencies to make goal-incongruent capital budget recommendations. We find that managers' recommendations are biased by their loss aversion. In particular, managers of high-performing divisions are more likely than managers of low-performing divisions to propose investments that maximize their division's short-term profits at the expense of the firm's long-term value. We also find that managers' recommendations are biased by their causal attributions. In particular, managers are more likely to propose investments that maximize their division's short-term profits at the expense of the firm's long-term value when they attribute their division's performance to external causes (e.g., task difficulty or luck) rather than to internal causes (e.g., managerial ability or effort). Further, the effects of causal attributions are greater for managers of high-performing divisions than for managers of low-performing divisions. The study's findings are important because loss aversion and causal attributions are often manifested in firms. Thus, they may bias managers' decisions, which in turn may be detrimental to the firms' long-term value. [source] Transnational Entrepreneurship: Determinants of Firm Type and Owner Attributions of SuccessENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 5 2009Jennifer M. Sequeira Building on a typology of transnational firm types, developed by Landolt, Autler, and Baires in 1999, we examine whether immigrant attitudes toward the host country and their degree of embeddedness in the home country can predict the specific type of transnational enterprise that an immigrant is likely to begin. We also investigate whether the determinants of success of transnational enterprises vary by firm type. Based on a sample of 1,202 transnational business owners drawn from the Comparative Immigrant Entrepreneurship Project database, our analyses indicate general support for our hypotheses. More specifically, we found that transnational entrepreneurs' positive perceptions of host country opportunities and greater embeddedness in home country activities helped predict the specific type of ventures they would undertake. Further, the degree of embeddedness in the home country may influence the determinants of success for these types of firms. Depending on firm type, owners attributed their primary success to either personal characteristics, social support, or to the quality of their products and services. [source] Attributions and Emotional Reactions to the Identity Disclosure ("Coming Out") of a Homosexual Child,FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 2 2001Jorge C. Armesto Ed.M. This study examined factors that contribute to parental rejection of gay and lesbian youth. College students (N = 356) were asked to imagine being the parent of an adolescent son who recently disclosed that he was gay. Consistent with study hypotheses and based on attribution and moral affect theory, results of regression analyses indicated that greater perceptions of control over homosexuality, higher proneness to experience shame, and lower proneness to experience guilt were associated with increasing negative reactions toward an imagined homosexual child. Also in line with study hypotheses, greater willingness to offer help to the hypothetical child was predicted by lower perceptions of control over homosexuality, less intensely unfavorable emotional reactions, less proneness to experience guilt, and greater reported likelihood of experiencing affection toward him. Theoretical and clinical implications of this research are discussed. [source] Linking Employment Status, Maternal Psychological Well-Being, Parenting, and Children's Attributions About Poverty in Families Receiving Government Assistance,FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 2 2002Velma McBride Murry Functional changes in rural African American single-mother-headed families after the implementation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families were explored from an ecological risk,protection perspective. The sample included 96 single mothers who received government assistance and their 10- or 11-year-old children. Links among maternal employment status, mothers' physical health and psychological functioning, parenting, and children's attributions about the causes of poverty were examined. Maternal psychological distress was linked with children's attributions about the causes of poverty, both directly and indirectly through its association with parenting. Children who did not attribute poverty to social causes had higher academic goals than did those who attributed poverty to social, economic, or political barriers. Further research is needed on barriers to employment and the influence of maternal psychological functioning on parenting. [source] Lay understandings of the effects of poverty: a Canadian perspectiveHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 6 2005Linda I. Reutter RN PhD Abstract Although there is a large body of research dedicated to exploring public attributions for poverty, considerably less attention has been directed to public understandings about the effects of poverty. In this paper, we describe lay understandings of the effects of poverty and the factors that potentially influence these perceptions, using data from a telephone survey conducted in 2002 on a random sample (n = 1671) of adults from eight neighbourhoods in two large Canadian cities (Edmonton and Toronto). These data were supplemented with interview data obtained from 153 people living in these same neighbourhoods. Multivariate linear and logistic regressions were used to determine the effects of basic demographic variables, exposure to poverty and attribution for poverty on three dependent variables relating to the effects of poverty: participation in community life, the relationship between poverty and health and challenges facing low-income people. Ninety-one per cent of survey respondents agreed that poverty is linked to health, while 68% agreed that low-income people are less likely to participate in community life. Affordable housing was deemed especially difficult to obtain by 96%, but other resources (obtaining healthy food, giving children a good start in life, and engaging in healthy behaviours) were also viewed as challenging by at least 70% of respondents. The regression models revealed that when controlling for demographics, exposure to poverty explained some of the variance in recognising the effects of poverty. Media exposure positively influenced recognition of the poverty,health link, and attending formal talks was strongly related to understanding challenges of poverty. Attributions for poverty accounted for slightly more of the variance in the dependent variables. Specifically, structural and sociocultural attributions predicted greater recognition of the effects of poverty, in particular the challenges of poverty, while individualistic attributions predicted less recognition. Older and female respondents were more likely to acknowledge the effects of poverty. Income was positively associated with recognition of the poverty,health link, negatively associated with understanding the challenges of low-income people, and unrelated to perceptions of the negative effect of poverty on participation in community life. [source] Shedding the Pounds but not the Stigma: Negative Attributions as a Function of a Target's Method of Weight LossJOURNAL OF APPLIED BIOBEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2009Brent A. Mattingly Overweight individuals are perceived as possessing several negative attributes, which often leads them to attempt to lose weight. The current research examined if method of weight loss influences participants' attributions and perceptions of a formerly overweight target individual. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: weight loss via diet/exercise, weight loss via surgery, or control (no description of weight loss). Results indicated that, in general, the surgery targets were perceived more negatively than the diet/exercise targets. Moreover, diet/exercise targets were perceived as being less healthy, and, for female participants, more responsible for their weight than control targets. These data suggest that individuals who lose weight are still prone to the negative attributions associated with the overweight. [source] The Impact of Service User Cognitive Level on Carer Attributions for Aggressive BehaviourJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 3 2002Hannah Tynan Background This study was designed to test the hypothesis that carer attributions for aggressive behaviour vary according to a service user's severity of intellectual disability. Methods Forty-two residential care staff participated in an investigation examining the effects of the level of a service user's intellectual disability on causal attributions for their aggressive behaviour. Equal numbers of participants were assigned to either a ,mild disability' or a ,severe disability' condition and required to read a vignette depicting a service user with aggressive challenging behaviour. The service user's cognitive abilities were experimentally manipulated across conditions, whilst the behaviour described remained unchanged. Participants were required to make attributions along Weiner's (1980) dimensions of locus, stability and controllability, and in accordance with five prominent models of challenging behaviour (Hastings 1997b). Results The service user depicted in the mild disabilities condition was perceived to have significantly greater control over factors causing the aggressive behaviour than the service user in the severe disabilities condition. Participants in the severe disabilities condition considered the aggression to be significantly more challenging. Learned behaviour and emotional causal models of aggressive behaviour were favoured, whilst the physical environment account was seen as least appropriate. Additionally, the biomedical model was rated as significantly more applicable in the severe disability condition than in the mild disability condition. Conclusions Implications for staff and service users are discussed. In particular, the relationship between staff causal attributions for challenging behaviour, their emotional responses and willingness to engage in helping behaviour is explored. [source] Attributions of Responsibility for Rape: Differences Across Familiarity of Situation, Gender, and Acceptance of Rape Myths,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 7 2008Peter A. Newcombe In 2004 in Australia, controversy over the alleged involvement of elite footballers in incidents of sexual assault highlighted a tendency to denigrate the victims and excuse the perpetrators. To investigate whether rape myths were prevalent enough to explain this public response, 102 university students were surveyed for their beliefs and determinations of blame in rape situations. Although there was a gender difference in the rates of rape myth acceptance, with males more likely to accept these beliefs, these were not evident in decisions about victim blame or perpetrator blame. However, males and high rape myth acceptors were significantly more likely to minimize the seriousness of the rape situation. These effects increased with familiarity depicted in the situation. [source] Attributions of HIV Onset Controllability, Emotional Reactions, and Helping Intentions: Implicit Effects of Victim Sexual Orientation,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 7 2007Jason D. Seacat A vignette methodology was used to investigate the effects of systematically manipulating HIV onset controllability and victim sexual orientation on (a) participant attributions about a victim (i.e., perceptions of victim control, responsibility, and blame); (b) participant emotional reactions (anger and sympathy) toward a victim; and (c) participant helping intentions toward a victim. Weiner's (1980a, 1980b, 1995) attributional helping model was tested to determine whether participant anger and sympathy mediated the onset controllability/helping intentions relationship. A total of 399 undergraduate psychology students completed the survey. Statistically significant effects were found for HIV onset controllability and victim sexual orientation on participant attributions, emotional reactions, and helping intentions. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are addressed. [source] Age Bias in the Workplace: The Impact of Ageism and Causal Attributions,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2006Deborah E. Rupp This study considers the roles of managerial ageism and causal attributions in the age bias process. Specifically, we predicted that employee age and manager ageism would interact in predicting the severity of recommendations made about an employee's performance errors, such that ageist managers would be more likely to engage in age bias. Second, we proposed that age bias is caused partially by differential attributions made about the performance errors of older vs. younger workers. Results indicated that older employees received more severe recommendations for poor performance than did their younger counterparts. Also, some ageist attitudes moderated the relationship between age and performance recommendations. Stability attributions mediated the relationship of employee age on endorsement of the more punitive recommendations. [source] The Effect of Victims' Social Support on Attributions of Blame in Female and Male RapeJOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 7 2005Irina Anderson The effects of perceived social support of the victim, victim gender, and participant gender on attributions of blame in rape were examined. The impact of attitudes toward gender roles was also investigated for their mediational role between participant gender and blame. Participants (N= 121) read a report of an incident of rape and evaluated the victim and the perpetrator. Two ANOVAs showed that social support and participant gender influenced blame attributed to the victim, while victim gender influenced blame attributed to the perpetrator. Socially supported victims were blamed less than were unsupported victims. Men were more blaming of rape victims than were women, but further analyses showed this was mediated by attitudes toward gender roles. Men held significantly more traditional attitudes toward gender roles than did women, and this accounted for the effect of participant gender on victim perceptions. The perpetrator of male rape was blamed less than the perpetrator of female rape. Findings are discussed in terms of the differential attributional mechanisms that may underpin men's and women's reasoning about different types of rape. [source] Using Attributions to Understand the Effects of Explanations on Applicant Reactions: Are Reactions Consistent With the Covariation Principle?,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2005Robert E. Ployhart Research has shown that explanations for selection decisions may influence a variety of applicant perceptions and behavior, but an understanding of how and why this occurs remains largely unknown. This study attempts to understand the effects of explanations by adopting Kelley's (1967, 1972) covariation model of the attribution process. Specifically, explanations that vary on consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency covariation information should produce predictable effects on applicant perceptions and attributions. Results from 2 studies, the first a laboratory study and the second a field study with actual applicants, support the utility of the covariation model for understanding the influence of explanations for selection decisions on locus attributions, fairness, self-perceptions, and organizational attractiveness. These results suggest that the covariation model may be a useful means to construe the explanation-attribution-perception relationship, and thus provide a number of theoretical and practical implications. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||