Differences were examined in attribution for academic successes and failures of high school students participating in (N=116) and not participating in (N=86) programs for the gifted. Findings indicated that participating Ss tended to attribute successes to their own effort and ability to a greater degree than nonparticipating students. (Author/CL)

Subjects read two descriptions of an actor responding positively toward a target person with different patterns of information accompanying them. In one description, the subject was the target person. Comparison between two-dimension information patterns implied that when distinctiveness or consensus information was absent results were dependent…

Coded the explanations given by violent offenders (N=44) for locus of attribution and excuse versus justification; and examined the explanations for their relationship to situational variables. Results supported the value, interest and replicability of research on common sense explanations in prison settings. (LLL)

Investigated the factor structure of the Levels of Attribution and Change (LAC) Scale on two samples: adult smokers (N=194) and professional psycho-therapists (N=140). Analysis of data substantiated the utility and internal validity of the LAC theoretical scales and supported the present scoring system. (LLL)

Examined factors in the decisions of 98 battered women to leave or remain in an abusive relationship. Results showed that both economic dependence and psychological commitment were significantly, and independently, related to the decision, and results held for both objective and subjective measures. (JAC)

Reports on a study designed to assess whether attributions or causality of success and failure would vary as a function of sex role attitudes. Indicates that sex-typed notions about competence may still be deeply ingrained despite recent social changes. (Author/MK)

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…

Evaluated parents' data in three studies of families with delinquent adolescent. Provided families with different forms of positive versus negative interactional (attributional) context. Taken together, data provide some support for reattribution techniques such as relabeling. Data question ease with which such techniques can be successful.…

Attributions of 40 wives accounted for variance in their marital satisfaction after effects of depression had been taken into account. Second study compared attributions of 20 clinically depressed and maritally distressed wives, 20 nondepressed but distressed wives, and 20 nondepressed, nondistressed wives. Findings suggest that association…

Comments on Heim and Snyder (1991) study which explored interaction between marital discord and spouses' attributions in predicting depression. Suggests that attributional theory model may set up reductionistic research stance, potentially separating what depressed people think from their circumstances and history and implying linear relationship…

Heim and Snyder respond to Ettinger et al.'s comments in previous article concerning Heim and Snyder's 1991 study exploring interaction between marital discord and spouses' attributions in predicting depression. Discusses findings and reiterates complex and recursive relationships among marital difficulties, depression, cognitive processes, and…

Describes investigation of casual attribution categories of faith, logic, and power along with personal responsibility as components of attitudes toward disability. Multiple regression analyses using rank ordering data and correspondence analysis coordinates yielded high coefficients for all categories indicating concepts implicit in categories…

Study found significant relationships between casual attributions of disabilities and the rehabilitation approach chosen. Attributions to fate correlated with accepting the disability as one's lot in life. Attributions to natural or medical causes correlated with choosing medical or retraining services; Attributions to societally imposed barriers…

Aggressive and nonaggressive African American early adolescent males were primed or not primed to perceive intentionally or nonintentionally caused negative outcomes in a hypothetical peer provocation, and then made inferences about the peer's intent. In the unintentional primed condition, aggressive males made more extreme judgments than…

Two studies investigated how 5- to 10-year-olds integrate perceptual causality with their knowledge of the underlying causal mechanism, using two devices in which a bell would ring when a ball was dropped in, either immediately or after a delay, depending on the mechanism inside. Findings suggest a link between temporal contiguity and causality in…