Generalization of the negativity effect to self-attributions.
In 1979 Reeder and Brewer reported that people make stronger attributions for negative behaviors than for positive ones, following Hastorf and Cantril's statement that people are motivated to maintain positive self-views. The present study tested whether 67 participants would make stronger self-attributions for negative behaviors than for positive ones by having them indicate the number of times that they had to engage in a specific behavior before it would become a trait they possess. Analysis confirmed that participants make stronger self-attributions for negative behaviors than for positive behaviors.
Brown
Jennie
J
Department of Psychology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces 88003-8001, USA. jennbrow@nmsu.edu
Trafimow
David
D
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D005260:Female; D005793:Generalization, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires