Social perception of persons with PTSD symptoms: a test of some predictions of attribution theory

Abstract

A broad research of the impact of PTSD diagnosis and presenting symptoms of this disorder on social reactions to persons with PTSD has been undertaken to test the prediction that the relative absence of fairly recognizable symptoms of this disorder promotes less positive social evaluation. This paper presents the effects of manipulating with the PTSD label and the recognizability of presented symptom pattern on ratings of the target person responsibility and elicited affective reactions and support giving intention in subjects.Three vignettes, differing in recognizability of presented symptoms of PTSD, were given to the subjects (228 students at the University of Mostar), and about a half of the subjects in each of these symptom pattern conditions was told that the target is a PTSD casualty. Subjects responded to the vignettes by rating target’s responsibility and their own reactions to him (pity, anger and willingness to give him support) on a five-point scale.The results showed significant effect of the symptom pattern manipulation, which was most pervasive in responsibility judgments and reported support intentions. The pattern of differences in judgments of responsibility suggests that the prevalence of less recognizable symptoms of PTSD might result in ascription of some responsibility to a target person for causing actual conditions. The relative absence of these symptoms appears to reduce, in particular, the variability in the subject's willingness to give support to the person, which is generally reported as being very high. Unlike these responsibility and support ratings, the effects of the symptom pattern on reported affective experiences of pity and anger do not match the pattern predicted from the attribution model of B. Weiner and an extension of this model made by Lopez and Wolkenstein. The absence of the predicted Label x Symptom pattern interaction was explained in terms of some drawbacks in the construction of the stimulus material.