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Abstract

Children in Grades 1, 3, 5 and 7 were presented with 4 achievement and 4 social situations varying in outcome (positive-negative) and asked to explain why these events might happen to them and to their best friend. Results indicated that only the oldest age children assigned less personal causation to their own than friends' actions in line with Jones and Nisbett's (1971) analysis. This finding was only obtained in response to positive, social situations. Number of causes mentioned per situation tended to increase with age. Attributions made for achievement situations were more self-serving in nature than attributions made for social situations. The type of act being judged was seen as an important variable in examining self-other attributions in both children and adults.

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References

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Developmental Aspects of Self and other Causal Attributions

Abstract

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References