Causal Attributions and Person Perceptions in an Incident of Spouse Abuse.

Autor/inn/en	Jacobsen, Rebecca H.; Calhoun, James F.
Titel	Causal Attributions and Person Perceptions in an Incident of Spouse Abuse.
Quelle	(1983), (20 Seiten)Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Attitude Change; Attribution Theory; Battered Women; Bias; College Students; Counseling Techniques; Empathy; Family Problems; Group Discussion; Higher Education; Observation; Role Playing; Sex Differences; Spouses + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Attitudinal change; Einstellungsänderung; Collegestudent; Counseling technique; Counselling technique; Counselling techniques; Beratungsmethode; Empathie; Familienkrise; Gruppendiskussion; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Beobachtung; Rollenspiel; Sex difference; Geschlechtsunterschied; Ehepartner
Abstract	Research suggests that observers of spouse abuse are likely to arrive at overly dispositional causal explanations for the abusive behavior, and reject both the abusing spouse and his victim. To examine observers' causal attributions and person perceptions under varying conditions, 160 college students read a vignette about an incident of spouse abuse in which the abuser either made a sincere apology and sought help, or only left a brief note. Subjects answered questions about their causal attributions and perceptions of the abuser and the victim; and then either role played the abuser and victim in a discussion after the fight, or engaged in a group discussion of the incident. Subjects then completed another questionnaire. There were no consistent differences found with respect to sex or the sex composition of the group. The results suggested that people viewed a spouse abuser less negatively and made more situational causal attributions about his behavior when he took positive steps to seek help. Both discussing the abuser's behavior in a group or role playing him led to more causal attributions, but that may have been more true for the role plays. (JAC)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC