Cognitive sets, attribution, and social interaction.

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to examine relationships among cognitive set variables, attribution, and behavior. Subjects were given either positive-, negative-, or no-set information about the emotional health of a stimulus person prior to observing a videotaped social encounter. After viewing the tape, subjects were administered a free-response attribution measure or a distraction task. All subjects then engaged in actual social interaction with the stimulus person. Principal findings were that (a) subjects receiving positive-set information wrote more positively valenced attributions and displayed more positive behavioral responses than did subjects receiving negative-and no-set information, (b) Subjects who made attributions exhibited more pronounced behavioral responses as a function of the set manipulation than did subjects who did not make attributions. It is argued that the latter data reveal the important role of attribution in mediating the effects of set on behavior. Overall, the data are discussed as reflecting a control motivation in the production of attribution and behavior.For many years, attribution researchers among alternative courses of action" (p. have been encouraged to probe the relationship between attribution and behavior (e.g.,

Prejudice and Intergroup Attributions: The Role of Personalization and Performance Feedback

“…A few studies correlationally have examined both links within a single experiment (e.g. Islam & Hewstone, 1993;Town & Harvey, 1981;Yarkin, Harvey, & Bloxom, 1981). Nevertheless, despite the fact that attributions have frequently been invoked in explanations of prejudice and bias (Hewstone, 1989) we could not find a single instance of such mediational evidence.…”

Current Issues in Attribution Theory and Research

“…Hence, more pronounced be havioral responses in line with the set would be expected from these subjects. The import of expected future interaction in this sequence has been demon strated further by Yarkin (1983) and as a generally necessary condition for the production of meaningful attributions by Monson et al (1982).…”

Perception and Evaluation in Human–Robot Interaction: The Human–Robot Interaction Evaluation Scale (HRIES)—A Multicomponent Approach of Anthropomorphism

“…According to social psychology literature, attitudes are predominantly defined by positive attribution rather than negative attributions (Dupree & Fiske, 2017;Fiske et al, 2007). Negative attributions usually occur when there is a lack of positive attributions as neutral/negative attitudes modulators (Yarkin, Harvey, & Bloxom, 1981).…”