Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2002. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-90). Also available on the World Wide Web.

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

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The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of evaluation apprehension and achievement on subjects' internal causal attributions in a physical skills task. One hundred and twenty private school male students, aged 12 to 19, were assigned to one of two conditions of evaluation. Feedback on level of achievement was given upon completion of the task and the students asked to complete a seven item attribution questionnaire. A 2 x 2 (evaluation x achievement) multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine differences across conditions among the four internal attributions. The results indicated that the subjects' attributions were affected by evaluation, as well as different levels of achievement. The predicted interactive effect of evaluation and achievement on attribution was not found. It was concluded that there was a flaw in the logic which suggested that internal attributions would be affected by an interaction of evaluation apprehension and achievement.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate three aspects of the construct validity of attributional style assessment instruments. The first purpose was to determine the independence of stability and globality. The second was to determine if controllability was a dimension of attributional style. The third purpose was to determine if inventories that use real or hypothetical events measure attributional style equally well. One hundred fifty-nine female, and one hudred fifty-five male subjects, completed four questionnaires that assessed attributional style. Results provided some support for the general construct of attributional style. All four factors were found, which demonstrates the support for the four factor model. However, the two factor model may be the best overall method. No method factor (real or hypothetical stimulus event) solution was obtained. Possible sex differences are discussed. The findings are discussed in terms of attribution theory. Suggestions for further research are presented. / Department of Psychological Science

Attribution theory provides a rich foundation of literature addressing how individuals infer causes of behavior. While a great deal of marital therapists have utilized attribution theory to examine dysfunctional patterns of couples, no research to date has examined therapists' own attributions. The purpose of this study was to examine therapists' causal explanations, or attributions, for the difficulties of a marital dyad.One hundred thirty masters and doctoral level students completed the Causal Dimension Scale after viewing a videotape of a couple in an initial interview for therapy. Each subject was randomly assigned to one of three conditions when viewing the videotape: (1) Empathy induction for the wife; (2) empathy induction for the husband; or (3) a control group.Results indicated that empathy instructions did not significantly affect subjects' causal explanations for the couple's problems. Additionally, there was no relationship between empathy-induction and the subsequent prognosis for each spouse. While empathy instructions did not significantly affect therapist prognoses, there were gender differences among therapists and their prognoses. In general, female observers rated the prognosis for therapeutic gain for both the husband and wife higher than did male observers; however, the only significant difference between male and female observers was on the prognosis for therapeutic gain for the husband. Finally, another influential variable affecting therapist prognosis was the video scenario. The prognosis for therapeutic gain for both the husband and the wife was judged to be higher when he/she was the "pursuer" who was upset with the other spouse for spending too much time at work with an opposite-sex co-worker. Implications of this study for marital therapists were discussed. Additionally, limitations as well as suggestions for further research in this area were noted and discussed. Further investigation is needed to examine possible therapist biases in working with couples. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services