PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

James Lani

MA-Research
August 1995

The Effect of Informational Cues on Emotional Atttributions

    Weiner’s attributional theory of emotions argues that the specific type and intensity of an emotional experience is a function of the outcome’s valence (positive or negative) and the pattern of causal attributions about the cause of that outcome.  This study tested Weiner’s theory by giving three-hundred and thirty-four students each of two outcome-related scenarios which contained informational cues about an outcome for an actor.  Participants were then asked: (a) to make their own attributions about the causes of an actor’s outcome on each of four causal dimensions of locus of causality, stability, personal control and external control, and (b) to rate the actor’s emotional intensity on each of the emotions of pride, anger, shame, guilt, hopelessness.  Results provided mixed support for Weiner’s theory in that the patterns of causal dimensions led to predicted pride intensity in both scenarios, to predicted shame intensity in one, but not the other scenario, and did not lead to predicted anger, hopelessness or guilt intensity in either scenario.

Psychology Department * CSULB * 1250 Bellflower Blvd. * Long Beach, CA  90840-0901 * 562-985-5001