Female Ss scoring internal and external on Rotter's scale rated the personal characteristics and responsibility of a stimulus person who experienced a chemical laboratory accident which varied in severity and type of consequences. Consistent with a strategy of denying threat, Internals reported that they were less like the accident perpetrator than did Externals, but contrary to predictions did not hold the person more accountable. Contrary to other studies and defensive attribution theory no support was found that the stimulus person's responsibility and characteristics were assigned on the basis of the accident's consequences.
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