Attempts to refine the Kelley causal attribution model by developing a classification scheme to describe the various types of causal attributions, and by demonstrating the importance of comparison-object consensus as well as the usual factors of target-object consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency. (Author/SS)

Subjects watched animated films depicting the simultaneous movements of two triangles toward a goal. One triangle was pushed by an external object while the other triangle was not. Initially, only college students understood the discounting principle. Kindergarten children, second graders, and fourth graders did not. Revision of the film produced…

As temporal distance from an event increased, individuals both interpreted their own behavior and outcomes as being more due to situational influences and perceived their behavior to have been more similar to the behavior of others. Further, differences in attributions of actors and observers narrowed as temporal distance from the target event…

Six experiments examined the relations of causal attributions and affect to judgments of help-giving. (Author/SS)

Investigates the hypothesis that willingness to help another person depends on the cause of the person's need and that the relationship between attribution and helping is mediated by affect and expectancy of future need. Subjects were 40 male and 40 female undergraduate students. (Author/SS)