Inconsistencies in Attribution of Control and Blame

Abstract

It is contended that individuals are not consistent in attributing control and blame to the same source. An attempt was made to examine this by the use of psychometric scales. Two groups, 40 college students (27 males and 13 females), aged from 18 to 39 yr., and 163 expectant mothers, aged from 19 to 41 yr. who were patients at an ante-natal clinic, were tested. Students' scores on the attribution of control to external sources tended to be incongruently related to internal attribution of blame. For the expectant women, scores on the two measures were unrelated. Perhaps these inconsistent attributions could be formulated into more precise descriptors of individual coping styles. Such inconsistencies might also be predictors of stress responsiveness, or vulnerability to specific illness such as depression.