Research focused on the work–family interface has explored many antecedents and consequences of work–family conflict (WFC) but has neglected to address cognitive reactions following conflict events. The purpose of this investigation is to explore one such reaction: attribution. Attributions of responsibility for conflict events are assessed with a focus on providing descriptive information about attributions and exploring correlates of attributions. Results indicate that attributions to external sources are much more frequent than internal attributions and that the work role is more frequently viewed as being responsible for conflict than the family role. In addition, results show that attributions are linked to characteristics of the conflict event, as well as anger and frustration following the conflict event.
AbramsonL. Y.SeligmanM. E.TeasdaleJ. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49-74.
2.
AlickeM.BuckinghamJ.ZellE.DavisT. (2008). Culpable control and counterfactual reasoning in the psychology of blame. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1371-1381.
3.
AllenT. D.HerstD. E. L.BruckC. S.SuttonM. (2000). Consequences associated with work-to-family conflict: A review and agenda for future research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5, 278-308.
4.
ArveyR. D.StricklandW.DraudenG.MartinC. (2006). Motivational components of test taking. Personnel Psychology, 43, 695-716.
5.
BarclayL. J.SkarlickiD. P.PughS. D. (2005). Exploring the role of emotions in injustice perceptions and retaliation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 629-643.
6.
BattR.ValcourP. M. (2003). Human resources practices as predictors of work-family outcomes and employee turnover. Industrial Relations, 42, 189-220.
7.
BeauregardT. A.HenryL. C. (2009). Making the link between work-life balance practices and organizational performance. Human Resource Management Review, 19, 9-22.
8.
BradburyT. N.FinchamF. D. (1992). Attributions and behavior in marital interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 613-628.
9.
BreaughJ.FryeN. (2008). Work-family conflict: The importance of family-friendly employment practices and family-supportive supervisors. Journal of Business and Psychology, 22, 345-353.
10.
CarlsonD. S.KacmarK. M. (2000). Work-family conflict in the organization: Do life role values make a difference?Journal of Management, 26, 1031-1054.
11.
CarlsonD. S.KacmarK. M.WilliamsL. J. (1999). Construction and initial validation of a multidimensional measure of work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 249-276.
12.
CarlsonD. S.KacmarK. M.WilliamsL. J. (2000). Construction and initial validation of a multidimensional measure of work–family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 249-276.
13.
CarrJ. C.BoyarS. L.GregoryB. T. (2008). The moderating effect of work-family centrality on work-family conflict, organizational attitudes, and turnover behavior. Journal of Management, 34, 244-262.
14.
CookA. (2009). Connecting work-family policies to supportive work environments. Group & Organization Management, 34, 206-240.
15.
DienerE. D.EmmonsR. A.LarsenR. J.GriffinS. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75.
16.
EbyL. T.CasperW. J.LockwoodA.BordeauxC.BrinleyA. (2005). Work and family research in IO/OB: Content analysis and review of the literature (1980–2002). Journal of Vocational Behavior, 66, 124-197.
17.
EllisA.HarperR. A. (1975). A new guide to rational living. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
18.
FordM. T.HeinenB. A.LangkamerK. L. (2007). Work and family satisfaction and conflict: A meta-analysis of cross-domain relations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 57-80.
19.
FroneM. R.RussellM.CooperM. L. (1992). Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict: Testing a model of the work-family interface. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 65-78.
20.
GilboaS.ShiromA.FriedY.CooperC. (2008). A meta-analysis of work demand stressors and job performance: Examining main and moderating effects. Personnel Psychology, 61, 227-271.
21.
GrayM. J.LombardoT. W. (2004). Life event attributions as a potential source of vulnerability following exposure to a traumatic event. Journal of Loss & Trauma, 9, 59-72.
22.
GreenhausJ. H.AllenT. D.SpectorP. E. (2006). Health consequences of work-family conflict: The dark side of the work-family interface. In PerrewéP. L.GansterD. C. (Eds.), Employee health, coping and methodologies: Research in occupational stress and well being (pp. 61-98). New York, NY: Elsevier Science/JAI Press.
23.
GreenhausJ. H.BeutellN. J. (1985). Sources and conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10, 76-88.
24.
GreenwaldA. G. (1980). The totalitarian ego. American Psychologist, 35, 603-618.
25.
HarveyJ. H.WearyG. (1984). Current issues in attribution theory and research. Annual Review of Psychology, 35, 427-459.
26.
HastieR. (1984). Causes and effects of causal attribution. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 44-56.
27.
HeiderF. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
28.
HeimbergR. G.KloskoJ. S.DodgeC. S.ShadickR.BeckerR. E.BarlowD. H. (1989). Anxiety disorders, depression, and attributional style: A further test of the specificity of depressive attributions. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 13, 21-36.
29.
HershcovisM. S.BarlingJ. (2010). Comparing victim attributions and outcomes for workplace aggression and sexual harassment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 874-888.
JacobsJ. A.GreenK. (1998). Who are the overworked Americans?Review of Social Economy, 56, 442-459.
32.
JudgeT. A.IliesR.ScottB. A. (2006). Work-family conflict and emotions: Effects at work and at home. Personnel Psychology, 59, 779-814.
33.
KahnR. L.WolfeD. M.QuinnP. R.SnoekJ. D.RosenthalR. A. (1964). Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. New York, NY: John Wiley.
34.
KeinanG.SivanD. (2001). The effects of stress and desire for control on the formation of causal attributions. Journal of Research in Personality, 35, 127-137.
35.
KelleyH. H. (1967). Attribution theory in social psychology. In LevineD. (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation (pp. 192-240). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
36.
KirchmeyerC. (1993). Nonwork-to-work spillover: A more balanced view of the experiences and coping of professional women and men. Sex Roles, 28, 531-552.
37.
KossekE. E.NoeR. A.DeMarrB. J. (1999). Work-family role synthesis: Individual and organizational determinants. International Journal of Conflict Management, 10, 102-129.
38.
KossekE. E.PichlerS.BodnerT.HammerL. B. (in press). Workplace social support and work-family conflict: A meta-analysis clarifying the influence of general and work-family specific supervisor and organizational support. Personnel Psychology.
39.
KulikJ. A.BrownR. (1979). Frustration, attribution of blame, and aggression. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 15, 183-194.
40.
LazarusR. S. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
41.
LorrM.McNairD. M.HeuchertJ. W. P.DropplemanL. F. (2003). Profile of mood states. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems.
42.
MartinkoM. J.GundlachM. J.DouglasS. C. (2002). Toward an integrative theory of counterproductive workplace behavior: A causal reasoning perspective. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 10, 36-50.
43.
MartinkoM. J.HarveyP.DasboroughM. T. (2011). Attribution theory in the organizational sciences: A case of unrealized potential. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32, 144-149.
44.
NishiiL. H.LepakD. P.SchneiderB. (2008). Employee attributions of the “why” of HR practices: Their effects on employee attitudes and behaviors, and customer satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 61, 503-545.
45.
PaullayI. M.AlligerG. M.Stone-RomeroE. F. (1994). Construct validation of two instruments designed to measure job involvement and work centrality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 224-228.
46.
PoelmansS. A. (2005). The decision process theory of work and family. In KossekE. E.LambertS. J. (Eds.), Work and life integration: Organizational, cultural, and individual perspectives (pp. 263-285). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
47.
PowellG. N.GreenhausJ. H. (2006). Managing incidents of work-family conflict: A decision-making perspective. Human Relations, 59, 1179.
48.
ReganD. T.StrausE.FazioR. (1974). Liking and the attribution process. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 10, 385-397.
49.
ScarnierM.SchmaderT.LickelB. (2009). Parental shame and guilt: Distinguishing emotional responses to a child’s wrongdoings. Personal Relationships, 16, 205-220.
ThomasL. T.GansterD. C. (1995). Impact of family-supportive work variables on work-family conflict and strain: A control perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80, 6-15.
52.
TolliA. P.SchmidtA. M. (2008). The role of feedback, casual attributions, and self-efficacy in goal revision. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 692-701.
53.
WartP. (1990). The measurement of well-being and other aspects of mental health. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, 193-210.
54.
WeinerB. (1986). An attributional theory of motivation and emotion. New York/Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
55.
WeinerB.FriezeI.KuklaA.ReedL.RestS.RosenbaumR. M. (1971). Perceiving the causes of success and failure. In JonesE. E.. (Eds.), Attribution: Perceiving the causes of behavior (pp. 95-120). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
56.
WeinerB.GrahamS.SternP.LawsonM. E. (1982). Using affective cues to infer causal thoughts. Developmental Psychology, 18, 278-286.
57.
WeinerB.RussellD.LermanD. (1978). Affective consequences of causal ascriptions. In HarveyJ. H.IckesW.KiddR. F. (Eds.), New directions in attribution research (pp. 59-90). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
58.
WeinerB.RussellD.LermanD. (1979). The cognition-emotion process in achievement-related contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1211-1220.
