Attributional conceptions in clinical psychology.

Abstract

This article integrates theoretical models and research concerning the antecedents of causal attributions with clinically relevant conceptions about attributional consequences and cognitive as well as rationalemotive therapy. "Therapeutic" attributional change programs were stimulated by the attributional analysis of achievement motivation and were suggested by the reformulated model of learned helplessness. Such change programs are mostly guided by theorizing and research about attributional consequences and neglect conceptions concerning attributional antecedents. It Beck and Ellis. is argued in this article that an inclusion of research about attributional antecedents into (clinical) models of attributional change (a) increases the range of applicability of attributional approaches in clinical psychology, (b) allows the making of predictions about when attributional changes can be attempted, (c) can be used to derive techniques for alterations of causal cognitions, and (d) could provide constructs for systematizing therapeutic techniques of cognitive behavior modification as advocated by

The abstinence violation effect in child molesters

“…It is now in the process of providing the social-cognitive underpinning of cognitive-behavioural therapy (Bradbury & Fincham, 1990;Fosterling, 1986;Hilton, 1990;Iacobucci & McGill, 1991;Kenardy, Evans, & Oei, 1990;Weiner, 1986).…”

Making healthy choices easy choices: the role of empowerment

“…The most important thing is that individuals feel that certain outcomes are under their personal control, thereby increasing the chance that one will persist in that behaviour. Reattribution programmes have successfully been applied in a variety of settings: for example, in the field of clinical psychology (eg Försterling, 1986), psychiatry (eg Brewin, 1985), school performances (Siero, 1987); smoking (cf. Eiser & Van Der Pligt, 1986) and weight management (cf.…”

Depression, School Performance, and the Veridicality of Perceived Grades and Causal Attributions

“…Several authors have doubted that the finding of depressives making more "balanced" attributions (i.e., consistency between success and failure attributions) reflects attributional veridicality (see Ackermann & DeRubeis, 1991;Alloy & Abramson, 1979;Colvin & Block, 1994;Försterling, 1986Försterling, , 1994. For instance, attributing success more strongly to ability than failure might be quite realistic.…”

“…All of these authors have criticized that there is no external criterion against which attributions, for example, for success versus failure, can be compared to decide which attribution is correct. Försterling (1986Försterling ( , 1994 has argued that the (specific) question of whether depressives' attributions are more realistic than nondepressives' and the (more general) question of whether realistic or distorted attributions favorably influence emotional well-being or achievement behavior can be theoretically conceptualized and empirically investigated while referring to theories about attribution antecedents.…”