The authors conducted 2 translational studies that assessed the causal effects of emotion on maladaptive cognitions and behaviors in couples. Specifically, the authors examined whether negative emotions increased and positive emotions decreased partner attributions and demand-withdraw behaviors. Study 1 (N=164) used video clips to assess the…

Compared persons who attended career workshops and those who registered but did not attend. Interviews with nonattenders showed 45 percent had forgotten or felt discouraged, 38 percent gave environmental reasons, and 17 percent indicated they had already met their goals. (JAC)

Investigated relation between counselors' causal explanation for clients' presenting problems and subsequent treatment assignments. Counselors (N=15) rated college students' (N=116) presenting problems on attributional dimensions and other variables. Results demonstrated ratings of duration of problem and attributions of stability of cause best…

Tested relation between attributions and types of depression postulated by reformulated learned helplessness theory versus an alternative in undergraduate college students (N=334). Results suggest inclusion of types of depression modestly increases support for one of hypotheses of reformulated theory but makes more questionable previously untested…

Examined extent to which offender's, victim's, and counselor's gender were related to 111 counselors' attributions about and attitudes toward cases of incest. Found no significant differences as function of either victim or offender gender. Female counselors had broader definitions of incest than did male counselors and were less likely to view…

Manipulated the content of attributional interpretations and their discrepancy from client attributions (N=38) to examine the respective importance of these two variables to the effectiveness of interpretation. Results indicated that interpretation content was irrelevant to change in clients' negative emotions, attributional styles, and…

Replicates research on the process of moving from observations to clinical judgments. Counselors (N=20) made status inferences, attributional inferences, and diagnostic classification of clients based on case folders. Results suggest the clinical judgment process was stagewise mediated, and attributional inferences had little direct impact on…

Investigated the frequency of and reasons for college students' (N=342) procrastination on academic tasks. A high percentage of students reported problems with procrastination. Results indicated that procrastination is not solely a deficit in study habits or time management but involves a complex interaction of behavioral, cognitive, and affective…

Supervisors (N=80) heard tapes of a trainee describing how her client's depression lifted or worsened and attributing this change to her efforts (defensive style) or to the client (counterdefensive style). The counterdefensive trainee was judged to be more socially skilled, but the defensive trainee was rated as more self-confident. (BH)

Examined subjects' causal attributions of counselor behavior and ratings of counselor characteristics as affected by counseling analogue methodologies. Quasi-analogue subjects tended to rate counselors more positively than did audiovisual analogue subjects. Audiovisual subjects who saw only the counselor tended to rate counselors more positively…

Describes process scales designed to rate counselor's references to locus of control and record problem-solving statements. Results indicated counselors are inconsistent in use of style and content in causality. Counselors implied that students had resources to solve problems, but provided solutions rather than allowing students to solve problems.…

Empathy and attributions of client responsibility for the cause of and solution to a problem were examined for 247 psychologists who were identified as having low, moderate, and high color-blind racial attitudes. Participants responded to 1 of 4 vignettes that controlled for client race (i.e., African American, European American) and client…

Undergraduates rated the importance of expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness for a friend and a mental health professional from whom they might seek help. Results indicated salient attributes of a professional were perceived expertness and trustworthiness. Salient attributes of a friend were perceived attractiveness and trustworthiness.…

The study examined the attribution of responsibility of 34 students with an internal or external locus of control following success or failure feedback on a communication task. Results indicated externals attribute more responsibility to impersonal external sources than do internals. The importance of attributional processes for counseling is…

Examined whether obese subjects' causal attributions of their weight problems to ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck affect how much weight they lose as a function of treatment. Results indicated the most powerful predictor of positive weight status was subjects' perception that they had the ability to lose weight. (Author)