THE EFFECTS OF ACTOR OUTCOMES AND OBSERVER CONTINGENCIES ON ATTRIBUTIONS, PERCEPTIONS, AND INFLUENCE
Abstract
This study examined the effects of an actor's outcomes (suffering or benefiting), and the behavior-outcome contingencies of observers, on observers' attributions for the actor's statements, their perceptions of the actor, and the actor's influence on the subjects' own opinions. It also examined the effects of changes in the actor's outcomes, and the effects of outcomes and contingencies on the scope of an actor's influence. The study was designed to (a) extend previous research on the effects of actor outcomes on actor influence, (b) address several conceptual problems in the industrial-organizational psychology literature on leadership, and (c) test opposing predictions of the effects of actor suffering and benefiting made by social learning and attribution theories. Subjects participated in the study by first reading a bogus newsmagazine article, typeset so as to appear to be from a weekly newsmagazine. This article presented the focal actor in the study, described his position on an issue relevant to a college student population, and outlined the consequences of this position (i.e., suffering or benefiting). The article also presented the manipulation of the observer's behavior-outcome contingencies (i.e., same as the actor's or different than the actor's). Subjects then read a second newsarticle, presenting the actor's position on an issue unrelated to the previously described outcomes. After reading both of these articles, the subjects filled out a questionnaire measuring their attributions for the actor's statements on the issues, their perceptions of the actor, and their own opinions on the issues. After completing the first questionnaire, the subjects read a third newsarticle, which described a reversal of the actor's outcomes (i.e., from suffering to benefiting, or from benefiting to suffering). They then responded to a second questionnaire measuring attributions, perceptions, and their own opinions. The results of the study showed that all subjects perceived their contingencies as being similar to the actor's regardless of the contingency manipulation. This was attributed to the similarity between the actor and the subjects. The actor who benefited was found to be more influential until after the reversal of outcomes, upon which the actor who had originally suffered was more influential. This finding suggests that social learning processes can best explain the effects of actor outcomes, at least under conditions where the actor's and the observers' behavior-outcome contingencies are similar.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Occupational psychology
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