A total of 184 adults read descriptions of six hypothetical children with various undesirable characteristics (i.e., being extremely overweight, extremely aggressive, extremely shy, a poor student, a poor athlete, displaying symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Following each description, the participants were asked to rate how much they disagree or agree that the child, the child's parents, and the child's biological condition (i.e., "something wrong inside the child's body or brain") are at fault for the onset and the perpetuation of the undesirable characteristic. In addition, the participants were asked to rate their attitude toward each child using a 100-point "feeling thermometer." Analyses of the participants' various fault attribution ratings revealed that they tended to agree more strongly that a child's parents and his/her biological condition are at fault for the onset and the perpetuation of the child's undesirable characteristic than is the child him/herself. Despite the participants' reluctance to blame a hypothetical child for his/her undesirable characteristic, regression analyses revealed that, in general, the more they blamed the child for the onset of his/her undesirable characteristic, the more negative their attitude was toward the child. However, the participants' ratings of the extent to which the child's parents or biological condition are at fault for the onset and the perpetuation of the child's undesirable characteristic were not found to be associated with their attitude toward any of the children. Similarities and differences between the present findings and those reported in prior studies involving younger individuals are addressed.
This study sought to examine the extent to which undergraduates' experiences with and attitudes relevant to rejection may be associated with their emotional and behavioral responses to ambiguous social situations in which rejection might be inferred. Undergraduate students completed questionnaires that assessed their experiences with and attitudes relevant to being rejected. Next, each participant read six hypothetical scenarios that described various situations that could be interpreted as interpersonal rejection. Following each scenario, participants completed questionnaires that assessed their emotional and behavioral responses to the hypothetical situation. Analyses revealed that the participants' experiences with rejection (and, to a lesser extent, their rejection-relevant attitudes) were associated with a negative emotional response and some negative behavioral responses. In sum, when another individual's interpersonal behavior has an uncertain intent, undergraduates' prior experiences with rejection may be especially important in determining the extent to which they feel and act as if they have been rejected.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.