title: Is Weiner's attribution-help model stable across cultures? A test in Brazilian subcultures.
abstract: The effect of attribution of responsibility on the intention to help is a well-studied effect. The Weiner model of attribution-emotion-help is the main theoretical development to describe the structural relation between these variables. Some research results have suggested that culture influences the relation between model variables. Collectivists tend to show more compassionate emotions independent of attribution of responsibility whereby emotion is no longer a mediator. The present research aims to test the Weiner model in Brazil, a country with established subcultures and clear distinctions in the collectivism-individualism dimension across its regions. An experiment with 1,569 participants from all five Brazilian regions was conducted. Path analysis revealed that more socially oriented participants tended to feel more compassion for the experimental scenario's protagonist, independent of controllability manipulation, decreasing the effect of emotions in the model. These results depict the effect of culture on the model, questioning the stability of the model across cultures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Work Psychology, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ronaldo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pilati
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Salgado de Oliveira University, Niterói, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Work Psychology, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Porto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Borges
authors.affiliation: Marista São Luís High-School, Recife, Brazil.
authors.forename: Iranilson C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: de Lima
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, Federal University of Para, Belém, Brazil.
authors.forename: Irani L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Lellis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012941:Social Responsibility; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cultural differences; Prosocial behaviour; Weiner attribution-help model