Group performance and interpersonal evaluations as determinants of egotistical attributions in groups¹

Abstract

Group members often try to claim personal credit for the successes of their group while avoiding blame for group failures. Two experiments examined the effects of evaluations from their fellows on such egotism in groups. In Experiment 1, 96 subjects participated in fourperson, problem-solving groups, and, after completing the group tasks, rated the competency and worth of each of the other group members. Subjects then received bogus written feedback indicating that the group had either succeeded or failed, and that the other members had considered them: (a) the most competent member of the group, (b) the least competent, or (c) of average competence. Group performance and personal evaluations interacted in influencing subjects' perceptions of their personal performances, relative responsibility for the group performance, and potency within the group, generally supporting predictions derived from self-esteem and equity theory. Subjects claimed more responsibility for success than for failure only when they were favorably evaluated by their peers, and claimed the least responsibility for group success when they were unfavorably evaluated. The latter acceptance of negative peer evaluations was examined in Experiment 2, which manipulated the consensus of the evaluations given 76 high or low self-esteem subjects. Regardless of their selfesteem or the consensus of the evaluations, subjects again seemed to accept unfavorable evaluations. High self-esteem subjects did, though.

Recognizing Contributions: Face–Support and Face-Threat Influences Students’ Emotional and Communicative Responses

“…The significant differences discovered in this study, despite the consistency of unequal contribution across situations, lend initial support to previous claims that verbal recognition may be more salient to group members when unequal contribution occurs (Schlenker et al, 1979).…”

“…According to Schlenker, Miller, Leary, and McCown (1979), when perceptions of inequity are heightened, desires for recognition increase. Verbally recognizing primary contributors' efforts in the form of saying ''thank you'' signals respect (Cissna & Sieburg, 1981) and satisfies primary contributors' desires to have their abilities recognized by others (Lim & Bowers, 1991).…”

Systems of student and teacher motivation: Toward a qualitative definition.

“…In the case of group failure, the issue of responsibility becomes important and a poor individual showing becomes salient. The imparting of blame is relevant to self-evaluation when we find that group members readily accept these negative or unfavorable evaluations by others (e.g., Schlenker, Miller, Leary, & McCown, 1979). The point here is that group outcome information in cooperative structures is a primary factor in students' interpersonal and selfevaluations.…”

Virtue, Personality, and Social Relations: Self‐Control as the Moral Muscle

“…For example, prideful people may be so self-focused that they are less prone to contribute to the group's welfare or to be willing to make sacrifices for others. In particular, group harmony may depend on maintaining a broad sense of fairness and equity, but such calculations are distorted by pride, insofar as proud people overestimate the value of their own contributions and believe they deserve large rewards (e.g., Schlenker & Miller, 1977;Schlenker, Miller, Leary, & McCown, 1979;Schlenker, Soraci, & McCarthy, 1976; see Blaine & Crocker, 1993, for review). Consistent with this, even in a society as geared toward high self-esteem and self-promotion as the modern United States, people tend to eschew pride and become modest or self-effacing when interacting with long-term friends, as opposed to their more positive self-presentations to strangers (Tice, Butler, Muraven, & Stillwell, 1995; see also Exline & Lobel, 1999).…”