Attribution of traits to self and others: Situationality vs. uncertainty

TLDR: The authors found that people attribute more dispositional traits to others than to themselves, and that the use of trait adjectives in this kind of research results in a number of methodological problems, such as confounding of preference for a "situational" description with response uncertainty.

Abstract: Although there is considerable support for the hypothesis that people attribute more dispositional traits to others than to themselves, the use of trait adjectives in this kind of research results in a number of methodological problems. The present study addresses the possible confounding of preference for a “situational” description with response uncertainty. Subjects were required to attribute traits to themselves, to a “typical smoker,” and to a “typical nonsmoker,” the response format being varied between conditions. Subjects attributed more traits to themselves than to others, and more to similar others than to dissimilar others. Further analysis indicated that a “situational attribution” in this type of trait-inference research is confounded with response uncertainty. It is concluded that one should be cautious in interpreting personality trait ratings as indicators of basic attributional processes.

Full text

UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (http
s
://dare.uva.nl)
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)
Attribution of traits to self and others: situationality vs. uncertainty
van der Pligt, J.; Eiser, J.R.
Publication date
1984
Published in
Current psychological research & reviews
Link to publication
Citation for published version (APA):
van der Pligt, J., & Eiser, J. R. (1984). Attribution of traits to self and others: situationality vs.
uncertainty.
Current psychological research & reviews
,
3
, 45-51.
General rights
It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s)
and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open
content license (like Creative Commons).
Disclaimer/Complaints regulations
If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please
let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material
inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter
to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You
will be contacted as soon as possible.
Download date:09 Aug 2022

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What are the contributions in this paper?

In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website this paper.