The effect of responsibility attributions on message source evaluation |
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| Abstract: | Concepts from Heider's “Attribution of Responsibility” theory were used to investigate the process of message source evaluation. The results of a role‐playing experiment indicate that: (1) When a message source's previous behavior has had favorable consequences for a receiver, the source will be rated more “safe,” “qualified,” and “dynamic” to the extent that responsibility for those consequences are attributed to the source; and (2) when the source's previous behavior has had unfavorable consequences for the receiver, the source will be judged less “safe” but more “qualified” and “dynamic” to the extent that responsibility for those consequences are attributed to the source. |
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