Examines the effects of participant and observer perspectives on the quantity and quality of information recalled from conversations. Finds that conversational memory may be linked to the social cognitive bias, which has long been associated with the observer perspective. (MS)

Examined attributions of credit and blame for good and bad deeds. Found that Portuguese children's attributions of credit and blame for moral and academic norms were similar to those of Japanese and U.S. children. They tended to give weight to negative outcomes because of the belief that appropriate behavior might not be praised but that…

Attributional style and academic persistence were assessed in 72 fifth graders. Findings revealed that attributional style predicted teacher-rated persistence but did not predict any of the behavioral persistence measures. Results suggest that students' self-reported attributional styles are related to teacher judgments of persistence. (Author/NB)

Two steps in the social information process model were assessed for socially accepted and rejected children by verbal responses to stories embedded in computer games. Attributions of intent and aggressive problem solutions were correlated with contextual factors (interpersonal context, outcome of game, and story type) and with sex and social…

Examined the attributions of, the criteria for, the likelihood of obtaining, and the importance of success and failure in examinations. 200 New Zealand and 200 Singaporean students were surveyed. Singaporean students were found to have a higher criterion mark for success than New Zealand students, but a lower criterion mark for failure. (SVE)

Results of this evaluation study did not find that attribution retraining (embedded within a mathematics computer-assisted instructional program) had a significant impact on the attributions of 29 students with learning disabilities. However, students in the attribution retraining condition did complete more program levels and scored higher on…

Describes a preliminary, comparative study of understandings and images of management activities revealed by 36 Chinese teachers and 30 British teachers taking education management courses at the University of Nottingham. The United Kingdom and Hong Kong teachers revealed more similarities than differences in their understanding of management…

Content analysis of the explanations given for their molestation by 84 female adolescent incest victims found no relationship between self-esteem or depression scores and whether subjects found an explanation for the molestation. However, type of attribution was related to self-esteem and depression, with internal attribution related to more…

Preschoolers' appraisals of others' emotions were compared with adults' appraisals. The accuracy of children's appraisals varied with age and with type and intensity of emotion. Children's appraisals were biased toward attribution of causes to external factors. Attributions to internal factors varied with age, emotion, and type of internal factor.…

This study, involving 49 teachers and 1,164 students, found that teachers tend to feel responsible for the academic successes of their students and to attribute their failures to external factors. Teachers with a high or medium rating on sense of responsibility exhibited more significantly positive attitudes toward their students. (Author/JDD)

A survey of 1,000 Americans with self-ascribed disabling conditions identified 6 factors differentiating individuals who did and did not consider themselves "disabled," including (1) belief that others considered them disabled, (2) self-rated severity of disability, (3) identification with others with disabilities, (4) gender, (5)…

Compares possible causal attributions for college success and failure in 358 American and Asian undergraduate students. American students attributed academic success more often to ability than did Asian students, and they appeared to believe that effort was more important to success than lack of effort was to failure. (GLR)

Examined college student attitudes toward women and attribution of responsibility for acquaintance rape. Findings from 417 students revealed that, in situations described in scenarios, male college students were more likely to assign responsibility to the woman. They more strongly believed that the woman wanted to have sexual intercourse and that…

This study compared sex offenders against children and adults on measures of cognitive distortions relating to sex with children and rape and a measure of blame attribution. Child sexual offenders endorsed more cognitive distortions relating to sex with children and reported more guilt-feeling attributions. (Author/DB)

Examines student motivation and achievement in relation to Attribution Theory. Asked public school students to indicate causes they attributed to success or failure in music. Shows that students place more importance on ability and effort as causal attributions. Grade, school level, and school system have significant effects on student response.…