Attributions based on written accounts of self-presentations by hypothetical managers were studied. Contrary to prior research, college students did not rate managers sharing credit with subordinates less favorably than managers merely disclosing personal obstacles overcome. A critical difference between this study and the prior one seemed to be that performance was portrayed as strictly a team effort, whereas in the prior study the manager made a significant individual contribution. Credit-sharing, male managers, who were average in weight, were rated more favorably than other men or any women. The present and prior research seem to have confounded information disclosed and degree of modesty.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
DyrenforthS. R.WooleyO. W.WooleyS. C. (1980) A woman's body in a man's world. In KaplanJ. R. (Ed.), A woman's conflict. London: Prentice-Hall. Pp. 29–57.
2.
GiacaloneR.RiordanC. A. (1986) Effects of self-presentation on perceptions in an organization. Proceedings of the Academy of Management, Southwest Division. Pp. 91–95.
3.
HarrisM. B.HarrisR. J.BochnerS. (1982) Fat, four-eyed, and female: stereotypes of obesity, glasses and gender. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 12, 503–516.
4.
HarveyJ. H.WearyG. (1984) Current issues in attribution theory and research. Annual Review of Psychology, 35, 427–459.
5.
HillerD. V. (1982) Overweight as a master status: a replication. Journal of Psychology, 110, 107–113.
6.
JonesE. E.FarinaA.HastorfA. H.MarkusH.MillerD. T.ScottR. A. (1984) Social stigma: the psychology of marked relationships. New York: Freeman.
7.
LarkinJ. C.PinesH. A. (1979) No fat persons need apply: experimental studies of the overweight stereotype and hiring preference. Sociology of Work and Occupations, 6, 312–327.
8.
MillmanM. (1980) Such a pretty face: being fat in America. New York: Norton.
9.
SchurE. M. (1983) Labeling women deviant: gender, stigma, and social control. Philadelphia, PA: Temple Univer. Press.
10.
WearyG.ArkinR. M. (1981) Attributional self-presentation. In HarveyJ. H.IckesW.KiddR. F. (Eds.), New directions in attributional research. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Vol. 3. Pp. 223–246.
