Divergence and Convergence in the Causal Attributions of Married Couples
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2589046 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas J Lavin (corresponding author), Thomas J Lavin Iii |
| Year | 1987 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 71 |
| Publication date | 1987-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Marriage and the Family (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-2445 • E-ISSN: 1741-3737 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/352671 |
| OpenAlex | W2070005830 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 13 |
This study addresses the question of whether and to what degree differences between actor and observer are likely to occur in the mutual attributions of married couples regarding the causes of each other's behavior. Specifically, the author investigated the effects of the following on spouses' attributions: the viewing of videotape replays of interactions; the sex of the subject; the target of the attribution (self or spouse); and the valence of the behavior. The data provided by the 40 couples in the study are clearly consistent with the finding of previous research that married couples do exhibit mutual idealizing tendencies in both their perceptions and causal attributions. Anticipation of future interaction, a concern for relationship maintenance, and self-serving biases, broadly interpreted, are invoked as explanations for these results. Viewing a videotape replay had minimal effects, and only among females, in reorienting. subjects' attributions. Finally, the results suggest that, whereas wives are remarkably convergent in their attributions to self and spouse, husbands tend to provide more stable and less variable internal attributions for themselves than for their wives. These results, which both support and reverse the pattern predicted by the actor-observer hypothesis, are interpreted in terms of role differences between husbands and wives and as strategic causal communications
Anticipation (artificial intelligence · Attribution · Convergence (economics · Developmental psychology · Perception · Spouse · Valence (chemistry · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
From Acts To Dispositions The Attribution Process In Person Perception
The psychology of interpersonal relations.
Assignment of Responsibility for Marital Conflict to Husbands and Wives
When Love Is Blind
Actors, observers, and the attribution process
Self-serving biases in the attribution process
The perception of self and others
Egotism and attribution
Egotism in males and females
The actor and the observer
Blame, Control, and Marital Satisfaction
Who Volunteers for Research on Marital Counseling
Inventory of Marital Conflicts (IMC)
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,16 |
| Citation span | 1989 - 1995 (7) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |