The Interpersonal Consequences of Self-Disclosure and Internal Attributions for Successl

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of an actor's internal attributions for success on observers' sub sequent treatment of the actor. The actor self-disclosed inform ation of moderate intimacy to some observers, but not to others. In both experiments it was found that when the actor attributed his success to ability he was treated less favorably when he was perceived to be friendly because he had self-disclosed, than when he was regarded neutrally because there had been no opportunity for him to self-disclose. In the first experiment, but not in the second, it was found that when the actor attributed his success to effort, he was treated more favorably when he had self-disclosed than when he had not.