The Honoring of Accounts

A General Theory of Organizational Stigma

“…As a consequence of this added attention and reduction in uncertainty, ceteris paribus, observers will pay greater attention to claims made by a high status actors and view those claims as more credible than those made by a lower status actor (Blumstein, Carssow, Hall, Hawkins, Hoffman, Ishem, Maurer, Spens, Taylor & Zimmerman 1974). As earlier noted, the labeling process is inherently a negotiated process (Ashforth & Humphrey 1995, 1997.…”

Insisting on Depression, but not Showing Symptoms: A Japanese Study of Excuse-Making

“…However, one can consider the possibility that participants assessed the fault in the college scenario (i.e., not doing the assignment) as more pernicious than the one in the workplace scenario (i.e., the absence without notice). As Blumstein et al (1974) suggested, there appears to be a relationship between the perceived offensiveness of a violation and the offender's ascribed causation (i.e., controllability of the deed in question). Hence, comparing the consequences of excuse-making in multiple situations, controlling the offensiveness of the violations is needed.…”

The effects of defendant account on damage award decisions

“…Does the severity of the offense influence the manner in which the accounts are perceived? An examination of offense severity and account type found that participants were more likely to believe accounts in situations in which the behavior was less severe (Blumstein, Carssow, Hall, Hawkins, Hoffman, Ishem, Maurer, Spens, Taylor, and Zimmerman, 1974). Another study examined account-giving strategies within intimate relationships by incorporating not only the type of account offered by the offender, but the severity of the offense (Hupka, Jung, & Silverthorn, 1987).…”

“…Participants read a scenario involving the commission of an offense and how the offender accounted for the offense (Blumstein et al, 1974). The participants then evaluated the individuals in the scenario, the action, and the account.…”

“…Will differences in accounts only demonstrate effects on awards when injury severity is low? The literature on accounts indicates that accounts are most effective in situations where the offense is less severe (Blumstein et al, 1974;Hupka et al, 1987). For this reason, differing accounts may demonstrate greater effectiveness when the injury severity is low and lesser effectiveness when the injury severity is high.…”