This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Schoeneman, T. J. Articles by Rubanowitz, D. E. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Schoeneman, T. J. Articles by Rubanowitz, D. E. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Attributions in the Advice Columns

Actors and Observers, Causes and Reasons

Lewis and Clark College

Daniel E. Rubanowitz

University of North Dakota

Two hundred explanatory statements were obtained from a sample of 61 letters and replies published in newspaper advice columns. These items were categorized according to Referent Subject (selflactor, otherlobserver, both), Referent Mode (descriptive, prescriptive), Locus of Explanation (internal, external, both), and Cause versus Reason. Reasons outnumbered causes 135 to 65. For descriptive attributions (n = 161), which describe a behavior and then give an explanation, the actor-observer divergence, as modified by theorists interested in the cause/reason distinction, emerged as predicted: Explanations from actors were most often situational (external) reasons; observers' attributions favored internal causes. Prescriptive attributions (n= 39), which state what a person should do or should have done and then explain why, were always reasons and were generally given by observers who cited the advisee's circumstances as justifying the prescription. Findings for descriptive attributions raise questions about the adequacy of a strictly causal attribution theory and the range of applicability of the internal external locus dimension.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Fischer, T. J. Schoeneman, and D. E. Rubanowitz Attributions in the Advice Columns: II. The Dimensionality of Actors' and Observers' Explanations for Interpersonal Problems Pers Soc Psychol Bull, December 1, 1987; 13(4): 458 - 466. [Abstract]

				T. J. Schoeneman, C. van Uchelen, S. Stonebrink, and P. R. Cheek Expectancy, Outcome, and Event Type: Effects on Retrospective Reports of Attributional Activity Pers Soc Psychol Bull, September 1, 1986; 12(3): 353 - 362. [Abstract]