Glenn D. Reeder

The self-serving bias in relational context

This article examined the impact of relationship closeness on the self-serving bias (SSB). Members of relationally distant dyads working on interdependen t-outcomes tasks manifested the SSB: They took credit for dyadic success but blamed the partner for dyadic failure. However, members of relationally close dyads did not manifest the SSB: They did not take more credit than their partner for dyadic success and did not blame the partner more than the self for dyadic failure. This gracious attributional pattern of relationally close dyad members is due, at least in part, to formation of a favorable impression of the partner. Relationship closeness acts as a bound to an individuals selfenhancing tendencies. If more than one person is responsible for a miscalculation, none will be at fault—Murphys Law

Stigma: Advances in Theory and Research

It has been 50 years since the publication of Goffmans influential work Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. This special issue celebrates Goffmans contribution with 14 articles reflecting the current state of the art in stigma research. In this article, we provide a theoretical overview of the stigma concept and offer a useful taxonomy of four types of stigma (public stigma, self-stigma, stigma by association, and structural stigma). We utilize this taxonomy to organize an overview of the articles included in this special issue. Finally, we outline new developments and challenges in stigma research for the coming decades.

The attribution of morality.

In two experiments, observers received information about a stimulus person and then attributed a given level of morality to that person. Attributions of morality based on the stimulus persons immoral (as opposed to moral) behavior were relatively unaffected by situational demands surrounding the behavior. That is, a person who stole or committed adultery was judged to be relatively immoral, regardless of situational pressures that appeared to facilitate the behavior. Varying the type of situational demand (reward vs. cost) did not alter this basic effect. Unlike morality attributions, causal attributions based on moral and immoral behavior were affected by situational demands to an equal extent. The results also indicated that impressions of morality formed in one context readily generalized to other aspects of morality. For example, a person who committed adultery was thought to be more likely to lie and steal than one who was not adulterous. It is well known that negative information weighs heavily in ones overall impression of a person (Kanouse & Hanson, 1972). For example, a single immoral behavior (such as stealing) is often enough to sour ones evaluation of a person. Further, this negative evaluation tends to persist even when the person is simultaneously credited with several very

A Social-Psychological Analysis of HIV-Related Stigma A Two-Factor Theory

Despite the best efforts of public health agencies, HIV/AIDS continues to carry a significant stigma in the general population. Research indicates that peoples negative reactions to persons with AIDS (PWAs) are due to their relatively automatic reactions to a disease that has become associated with death, promiscuity, drugs, and homosexuality. There is also evidence that more controlled or effortful information processing influences how people respond to PWAs. A model of HIV-related stigma is developed that assumes psychological reactions to stigmatized persons are governed by a primarily associative and a rule-based system, and that there is a temporal pattern such that initial reactions are governed by the associative system whereas subsequent reactions are governed by the rule-based system. Because associations to PWAs often are negative, relatively automatic reactions tend to be negative; however, if perceivers have enough time, motivation, and cognitive resources, they may adjust their initial reactions in a more positive direction. This theoretical model has general implications for understanding how any perceived stigma influences social cognition processes.

Trait-Behavior Relations and Dispositional Inference

Perceivers hold implicit expectations about the range of behavior implied by any given trait. This article distinguishes among four types of traits: capacities, morality traits, attitudes, and frequency based traits. Each type is described as having a unique pattern of trait-behavior relations, and several of these patterns are shown to relate to dispositional inference. The place of trait behavior relations within a general model of dispositional inference is outlined. The model describes a set of antecedents for the correction stage and divides correction into several interrelated operations: retrieval of attribution-relevant information (usually situational information), a decision-making operation in which the relevance of situational factors is considered along with trait-behavior relations, and an adjustment operation.

Dispositional Attribution: Multiple Inferences About Motive-Related Traits

This research views dispositional inference as a process whereby perceivers integrate multiple inferences about a target persons motives and traits. The findings suggest that although perceived motives may stimulate extra attributional processing (S. Fein, 1996), the content of the inferred motive is important as well. Perceivers learned about situational forces implying that a target person had free choice, no choice, or an ulterior motive for helpful behavior. Inferences about the targets helpfulness differed depending on whether the targets behavior was attributed to an obedience motive (no-choice condition) or to a selfish motive (ulterior-motive condition). In general, inferences about motives were more predictive of dispositional inferences than were global causal attributions (to situational vs. dispositional forces) or base rate assumptions.

Mindreading: Judgments About Intentionality and Motives in Dispositional Inference

Judgments about the intentionality of other peoples behavior are central to social perception. Perceivers typically explain a target persons intentional behavior in terms of the targets motives. In turn, inferences about motive often inform trait inferences about the target. In comparison to past theories, this multiple inference model portrays perceivers as interested in the specific beliefs and motives of others, rather than viewing perceivers as focusing on abstract causal reasoning. The model is applied to the literatures on attitude, morality, and ability attribution. In contrast to intentional behavior, perceivers explain a target persons involuntary, unintentional behavior by using a simpler process of global causal attribution.

Risk Factors for Work-Related Low Back Pain in Registered Nurses, and Potential Obstacles in Using Mechanical Lifting Devices

Back pain disability is a serious and costly problem affecting the nursing profession. The purposes of this study were to determine risk factors for work-related low back pain (WRLBP) in registered nurses and to record the reported use or reasons for nonuse of mechanical lifts. Our hypothesis was that workers who attributed the cause of WRLBP to their own actions would be knowledgeable about back safety, would be more likely to use lifts, and would report less WRLBP. A random sample of 270 registered nurses was selected from two acute care hospitals in central Illinois to identify WRLBP risk factors. This cross-sectional study gathered information on individual, physical workload, psychological, and organizational factors that may present a risk for WRLBP. Information was also collected on the use of safety devices and back pain symptoms. The response rate was 50.4%. Nearly 84% of respondents had WRLBP in the past, and 36.2% had WRLBP in the past year that limited movement or interfered with routine activities. Among the risk factors significantly associated with WRLBP were more years worked in nursing, frequent lifting, and low social support. Only 11% reported that they routinely used mechanical lifting devices, and the primary reason given for failure to use lifting equipment was unavailability of equipment. The reasons for the lack of use of mechanical lifts should be investigated and addressed.

When Do We Ostracize

Ostracism is a common, yet painful social experience. Given the harmful consequences of ostracism, why would groups ostracize their members? Previous research suggests that ostracism is a form of social control used to influence those group members perceived as burdensome. The authors propose that individuals will ostracize a group member only when it is justified (i.e., the member seems burdensome) but will compensate a member who is ostracized undeservedly. In Study 1, a group member was ostracized undeservedly by the other players during an online ball-tossing game. Participants allocated more tosses to that ostracized group member than an included one, compensating the ostracized member. In Study 2, participants continued to compensate an ostracized group member, unless that member was burdensome. Participants indicated punitive motives for ostracizing a burdensome group member. These experimental studies extend research on when individuals use ostracism as social control.

Among friends? An examination of friendship and the self-serving bias

Do friends bound each others self-enhancement tendencies? Do friends display the self-serving bias (SSB; i.e. taking individual credit for success but blaming a partner for failure)? Dyads consisting of either friends or strangers engaged in an interdependent-outcomes creativity test, received bogus success or failure feedback at the dyadic level, and made responsibility attributions for the joint test performance. Strangers displayed the SSB. Friends, in contrast, refrained from the SSB: they shared responsibility for both successful and unsuccessful test outcomes. Friendship does place boundaries on self-enhancement.