The effect of sufficiency and necessity on perceptions of control and responsibility

Rothbaum, Fred

doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1981.tb00848.x

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…This position conflicts with the position of the locus of control theorists who depict limited ability as an internal attribution (e.g., Abramson et al, 1978;Weiner, 1974) but is consistent with the position of other locus of control theorists who see limited ability attributions as contributing to the belief that effort does not make a difference-a belief that exemplifies externality (e.g., Cohen, Rothbart, & Phillips, 1976;Diener & Dweck, 1978;Lefcourt, 1976). For a fuller discussion of this topic, see Janoff-Bulman (1979) and Rothbaum (1981). erill, 1973;Burger & Arkin, 1980;Lefcourt, 1973).…”

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confidence: 99%

Changing the world and changing the self: A two-process model of perceived control.

Rothbaum

Weisz²,

Snyder³

1982

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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There is extensive evidence that people strongly value and are reluctant to relinquish the perception of control. Yet, both helplessness and locus of control theorists interpret various "inward" behaviors (passivity, withdrawal, and submissiveness) as signs of relinquished perceived control. As evidence, they note that inward behavior frequently is accompanied by causal attributions to limited ability, chance, and powerful others-all attributions that suggest uncontrollability. In contrast, we claim,that these attributions and the behaviors to which they relate may often reflect a type of perceived control that is generally overlooked. People attempt to gain control not only by bringing the environment into line with their wishes (primary control) but also by bringing themselves into line with environmental forces (secondary control). Four manifestations of secondary control are considered: (a) Attributions to severely, limited ability can serve to enhance predictive control and to protect against disappointment. Passive and withdrawn behaviors reflect the attempt to inhibit unfulfillable expectations, (b) Attributions to chance can reflect illusory control, since people often construe chance as a personal characteristic akin to an ability ("luck"). Individuals who make attributions to chance may exhibit passivity and withdrawal in skill situations, reserving energy and emotional investment for situations that allow them to capitalize on their perceived strength-that is, being lucky, (c) Attributions to powerful others permit vicarious control when the individual identifies with these others. Submission to a powerful leader, a group, or a deity sometimes enables the individual to join in their power, (d) All of the preceding attributions may foster interpretive control, in which the individual seeks to understand and derive meaning from otherwise uncontrollable events in order to accept them. When perceived control is recognized in both its primary and secondary forms, a broad range of inward behaviors can be seen as efforts to sustain rather than relinquish the perception of control.Factor analytic studies with children (reviewed in Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1978) and systematic observations of adults (e.g., Beck, 1967;Marks, 1977) have identified a This article was funded in part by National Institute of Mental Health Grant 1-RO1-MH-34210-01.The authors are indebted to Camille Wortman for her unusually thorough review of a draft of this article. Her comments added depth and clarity to many of the Central points.Requests for reprints should be sent to Fred Rothbaum, Department of Child Study, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155. set of interrelated problem behaviors including passivity, withdrawal, and submissiveness (hereafter referred to as inward behavior). The popularity of the learned helplessness model (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978;Seligman, 1975) is due largely to its lucid account of at least some of these seemingly maladaptive behaviors (especially passivity and withdrawal). Adherents o...

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confidence: 99%

Changing the world and changing the self: A two-process model of perceived control.

Rothbaum

Weisz²,

Snyder³

1982

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Self Cite

1,760

1,282

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“…Self-determination, for instance, was defined by Deci and Ryan (1985, p. 38) as "human functioning, that includes experience of choice… ability to make a choice… being determinant of own behavior". Control is, sometimes, connected with causality, in which case control is divided into sufficiency and necessity, where sufficiency is the human ability to cause or inhibit an action and necessity the inability of performer's actions to overcome environmental circumstance (Rothbaum, 1981). Self-control is also known as conscious impulse control (Baumeister & Vohs, 2005).…”

Section: Study 3: the Other Characteristic Of The Barrier: Inevitabilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception Accuracy of Biases in Self and in Others

Brycz¹

2011

JPR

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Ascription of Responsibility for Others

Gromski¹,

Doliński²

1987

The Journal of Social Psychology

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The effect of sufficiency and necessity on perceptions of control and responsibility

Abstract: 1. The author wishes to thank

Cited by 3 publications

References 43 publications

Changing the world and changing the self: A two-process model of perceived control.

Changing the world and changing the self: A two-process model of perceived control.

Perception Accuracy of Biases in Self and in Others

Ascription of Responsibility for Others

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