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Attribution Theory (attribution + theory)
Selected AbstractsThe Impact of Internal Auditor Compensation and Role on External Auditors' Planning Judgments and Decisions,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 2 2001F. Todd Dezoort Abstract This paper reports the results of an experiment that investigates how external audit planning is affected when internal auditors have incentives and the opportunity to bias their evaluations. Specifically, we draw on attribution theory to examine how internal auditor eligibility for incentive compensation and participation in consulting (i.e., two factors that provide incentives to bias audit evaluations) affect external audit planning. In addition, we examine the effects of incentive compensation and a consulting role across two routine internal audit tasks , an objective tests of controls task and a subjective inventory valuation task , to evaluate whether their effects are contingent upon task subjectivity (i.e., opportunity to bias audit evaluations). Seventy-six external auditors from four Big 5 public accounting firms participated in an experiment that manipulated internal auditor compensation (fixed salary versus incentive compensation), the type of work that the internal auditors routinely perform (primarily auditing versus primarily consulting), and audit task subjectivity (objective tests of controls versus subjective inventory valuation). Our results suggest that the nature of internal auditors' compensation and work affect audit planning recommendations differently. The opportunity to receive incentive compensation results in less reliance on internal auditors' work and greater budgeted audit hours, but only for the subjective task. Although a consulting role decreases perceived internal auditor objectivity, it has a limited effect on planning recommendations. Specifically, consulting has no effect on reliance, and leads to greater budgeted audit hours only when incentive compensation is available. We discuss potential explanations for the results as well as implications for audit research, practice, and regulation. [source] Is dyslexia necessarily associated with negative feelings of self-worth?DYSLEXIA, Issue 3 2008A review, implications for future research Abstract This paper will provide an overview of research in the past 20 years into the relationship between dyslexia and various aspects of self-perception, including self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy and locus of control. Problems are identified relating to the measurement of some of the most widely used constructs, as is the need for more precise identification of key variables relating to them. Critical issues concerning the assumptions that can be drawn from largely correlational data are highlighted also. The conclusion is drawn that an alternative approach to research in this area is required to enhance our understanding of how those suffering from learning disabilities of a dyslexic nature develop a positive or negative sense of identity. Suggestions are made as to how this can be achieved by drawing upon attribution theory and other aspects of social psychology. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Punitive Reactions to Completed Crimes Versus Accidentally Uncompleted Crimes,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2005Margit E. Oswald Previous studies have shown that the harm caused by crime affects punitive reactions even if differences in the degree of harm are merely accidental. However, it remains unclear whether the effect is direct or whether it is mediated by attributed responsibility or blame. Participants were 303 university students who listened to 4 case vignettes (between-subjects design). Half received information about a completed crime and half about an accidentally uncompleted crime. Crime type was either fraud or rape. The results suggest that individuals consider the actual harm to a significantly greater extent than attribution theory would predict. Moreover, the link between harm and punishment was virtually not mediated by attributed blame and not moderated by individual differences in morality. Future studies should investigate whether the harm-punishment link is a result of an automatic act of retaliation or a desire to compensate for the harm done to the victim (restorative justice). [source] Making the Punishment Fit the Crime and the Criminal: Attributions of Dangerousness as a Mediator of Liability,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2000Catherine A. Sanderson This research examines how individuals use information regarding characteristics of crimes (e. g., crime severity) and characteristics of the offender (e. g, prior criminal record) to form an impression of the criminal as dangerous to society, and to make liability judgments. Two studies presented college students and community members with crime scenarios and asked for ratings of crime severity, likelihood of recidivism, perceived dangerousness of the offender, and liability. Type of crime, severity. and likelihood of recidivism significantly predicted both liability and perceived dangerousness. Further more, in crimes against people only, the effects of severity and recidivism on liability were partially mediated by individuals' perceptions of the offender as criminally dangerous. The discussion examines the implications of these findings for attribution theory and sentencing in the criminal-justice system. [source] Behind the Third-Person Effect: Differentiating Perceptual Processes for Self and OtherJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 4 2001Douglas M. McLeod This study investigated factors related to two types of judgments that make up the third-person perception: media effects on others and effects on self. Specifically, separate regression path models revealed that estimates of effects on others are based on a relatively naive schema for media effects that is similar to the "magic bullet" model of media effects (i.e., more exposure leads to greater effects). On the other hand, assessing effects on self involves a more complex, conditional effects model. The different pattern of results for the self and other models reflect the "fundamental attribution error" from attribution theory. The path models also extend results from the perceptual component to the behavioral component of the third-person effect by linking the explanatory variables to support for censorship. Both models showed that paternalistic attitudes were the strongest predictor of support for censorship. [source] The Third-Person effect in perceptions of the influence of television violenceJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 2 2001C Hoffner This study examines the third-person effect (the belief that others are more affected by media messages than oneself) for two different effects of televised violence, mean world perceptions and aggression, using attribution theory as an explanatory framework. In telephone interviews with a random sample of 253 community residents, third-person effects, as predicted, were observed for both aggression and mean world perceptions, but were larger for the more socially undesirable influence on aggression and for more distant others (in the U.S. rather than the local community). In addition, those who compared themselves favorably with others perceived a larger third-person effect for aggression. The study also explores the role of other factors in the third-person effect, including demographics and liking for and exposure to televised violence. [source] Differentiating Good Soldiers from Good Actors*JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 6 2007Robin S. Snell abstract In a qualitative interview study, 20 Hong Kong Chinese informants were asked to report stories about colleagues who were either ,good soldiers' or ,good actors'. In stories about good soldiers, informants attributed their colleagues' organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) primarily to prosocial or pro-organizational motives. Informants' stories about good actors broke down into three major subcategories of citizenship-related impression management: OCB attributed primarily to impression management motives; alleged pseudo-OCB concomitant with minimal compliance; and alleged pseudo-OCB concomitant with counterproductive behaviour. When distinguishing good soldiers from good actors, informants adopted two criteria for attribution: wilful behavioural inconsistency, i.e. low generality of behaviour across contexts; and alleged false pretence, i.e. discrepancy between claims or allusions and actual deeds. Our findings partially supported a prior hypothesis from attribution theory, that consistency was a criterion for attribution, but indicated that consensus, i.e. correspondence between the focal colleague's behaviour and other employees' behaviour, failed to differentiate good soldiers from good actors. Informants generally regarded OCB as socially desirable only when it was attributed primarily to prosocial/pro-organizational motives. [source] That Way Madness Lies: At the Intersection of Philosophy and Clinical PsychologyMETAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 5 2004Jennifer Mundale Abstract: I argue that philosophical practice is a clinically active and influential endeavor, with both positive (therapeutic) and negative (detrimental) psychological possibilities. Though some have explicitly taken the clinical aspects of philosophy into the therapeutic realm via the new field of philosophical counseling, I am interested in the clinical context of philosophers as philosophers, engaged in standard, philosophical pursuits. In arguing for the clinical implications of philosophical practice I consider the relation between philosophical despair and depression, the cognitive etiology of depression and other clinical disorders, selected DSM-IV entries, attribution theory, and cognitive therapy. [source] GETTING CREDIT FOR PROACTIVE BEHAVIOR:SUPERVISOR REACTIONS DEPEND ON WHAT YOU VALUE AND HOW YOU FEELPERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2009ADAM M. GRANT Although proactive behavior is important in organizations, it is not always appreciated by supervisors. To explain when supervisors reward proactivity with higher overall performance evaluations, we draw on attribution theory. We propose that employees' values and affect send signals about their underlying intentions, which influence supervisors' attributions about whether employees deserve credit for proactive behaviors. More specifically, we hypothesize that if employees express strong prosocial values or low negative affect, the proactive behaviors of voice, issue-selling, taking charge, and anticipatory helping will have stronger relationships with supervisors' performance evaluations. We test these hypotheses with samples of 103 managers and their direct supervisors (Study 1) and 55 firefighters and their platoon supervisors (Study 2). The hypotheses were supported in both studies, suggesting that proactive behaviors are more likely to contribute to higher supervisor performance evaluations when employees express strong prosocial values or low negative affect. [source] Understanding two-sided persuasion: An empirical assessment of theoretical approachesPSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 7 2007Martin EisendArticle first published online: 24 MAY 200 This study tries to evaluate empirically the validity and generality of causal models based on alternative theories and the integrative frame-work provided by Crowley and Hoyer (1994) to explain the underlying persuasive mechanisms of two-sided messages in marketing. In addition to an empirical test of the models, the study theoretically discusses and empirically explores suggestions for model modifications. Applying meta-analytic-based causal estimation, the results show that the parsimonious model based on attribution theory provides high generality and affirms the prevalent use of the theory in previous studies. All other models could be meaningfully improved by integrating alternative processes of less-effortful message elaboration as suggested by dual-process theories. The results suggest that the impact of argument quality in two-sided messages is in line with previous models assuming effortful message elaboration, while less-effortful elaboration processes seem to rely on the number of arguments used in two-sided messages. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Qualitative techniques to investigate how patients evaluate dentists: a pilot studyCOMMUNITY DENTISTRY AND ORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 4 2000Philip R. H. Newsome Abstract ,Objectives: Most previous studies have portrayed patient satisfaction as a rather simple outcome based solely on patient perceptions. The goal of this pilot study was to determine if evidence could be found to support the view that patient evaluation is a more complex process better explained by drawing on the theories of ,disconfirmation of expectations' and ,attribution'. Methods: A qualitative methodological approach was chosen with data collection being achieved by means of four focus group interviews comprising a total of 25 participants (16 women and 9 men, mean age 43.8 years, standard deviation of 14.45) representing a wider population of adults (over the age of 18) who had attended for dental treatment within the previous 12 months. Results: Analysis suggests that patient perceptions of dental practice alone do not fully account for the way patients evaluate dentists. Disconfirmation of expectations does take place during the evaluation process. Equally, patients appear to apply the attributional concepts of ,duty' and ,culpability' to determine either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Conclusions: A better understanding of patient satisfaction, and the evaluation process that leads to satisfaction, can only be achieved if, in addition to patient perceptions, other antecedent factors such as patient expectations and desires are considered. Disconfirmation and attribution theory do appear to play an important role in this process and warrant further investigation. [source] | ||||||||||||||||