Browsing by Subject "Attributions"
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Item Accounting scandals and stigma by association via director interlocks(Texas A&M University, 2006-10-30) Kang, Soon Lee EugeneThis dissertation examines the phenomenon of stigma by association between firms in the context of corporate accounting scandals. I draw from the social psychology literature to develop a theoretical framework that supports the notion of director interlocks as a channel in which associated firms may experience stigma. I argue that allegations of corporate accounting scandal generate attributional search by investors to determine the cause(s) of the alleged scandal. Attribution theory suggests that investors are likely to attribute responsibility to corporate boards for failing to detect and prevent these scandals. Investors?????? perceptions of incompetent and/or unwilling directors in firms accused of accounting scandals may then spill over to directorship positions in associated firms, resulting in the stigmatization of these associated firms. The results strongly support the above arguments. I further adopted an information-based approach to argue that firms associated with stigmatized firms will experience different amounts of stigma, and some firms may experience no stigma at all. I applied social inference theories and agency theory to develop four categories of variables that may influence the amount of stigma experienced by associated firms. The results of the dissertation present strong evidence in support of most of the hypotheses. The characteristics of the interlocking director, the characteristics of the board, the strength of the director interlock, and the quality of corporate governance in an associated firm appear to influence the amount of stigma experienced by the associated firm. This dissertation highlights the possible (1) negative consequences of director interlocks, (2) understatement of the social costs of corporate accounting scandals, and (3) need for response strategies to mitigate the negative consequences of stigma by association.Item Individual Reactions to Failure in Virtual Teams(2012-02-14) Diaz, IsmaelThis project examines the relationship between team identification and collaboration configuration and how they affect attributions to failure. In a sample of 110 participants, we examined reactions to failure. We manipulated perceptions of similarity among participants and a confederate of the study, we also manipulated collaboration configuration. We found that the collaboration configuration manipulation effected attributions; attributions about teammate failure in the collocated condition were more situational than attributions in the distributed condition, which were more dispositional. This finding supports the notion that collaboration configuration is important for understanding reactions to teammate failure.Item Naturally-occurring declines in antisocial behavior from ages 4 to 12 : relations with parental sensitivity and psychological processes in children(2013-05) Buck, Katharine Ann; Dix, Theodore H.Although common in toddlerhood, for most children, antisocial behavior declines with age. The current study examined whether changes in maternal sensitivity, children's social skills, emotion regulation, and hostile attributions account for these declines. Data from 1022 participants, (52% female; 87% Caucasian) from the NICHD SECCYD were examined from 54 months through 6th grade. Analyses revealed that increases in sensitivity, social skills, and emotion regulation predicted decreases in antisocial behavior. Increases in sensitivity predicted declines because they promoted social skills and emotion regulation. Decreases in antisocial behavior predicted subsequent increases in sensitivity, children's social skills, emotion regulation, and decreases in hostile attributions. Increasing sensitivity, children's social skills, and emotion regulation, appear to be critical factors for naturally-occurring declines in antisocial behavior.Item Relationship breakups: are they all bad?(Texas Tech University, 2010-08) Buck, Erin; Hendrick, Susan S.; Hendrick, Clyde A.; Cook, Stephen W.; Winer, Jane L.This research focused on the link between attributions people make about relationship termination, coping strategies employed post-breakup and possible posttraumatic growth experienced as a result of a breakup. The research also studied the relations between past relationship breakups and current relationship satisfaction, level of respect for partner, and satisfaction with life. The measures used for this study included: a background inventory, the Relationship Breakup Attribution Measure (Tashiro & Frazier, 2003), the Problem Focused Style of Coping Scale (Heppner, Cook, Wright, & Johnson, 1995), the Emotional Approach Coping Scale (Stanton, Kirk, Cameron, & Danoff-Burg, 2000), the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996), the Relationship Assessment Scale (S. Hendrick, 1988), the Respect Toward Partner Scale (S. Hendrick & Hendrick, 2006), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). Correlations, regression analyses, and analysis of variance examined associations among the variables. Significant correlations were found among the variables for the total sample, for men and women separately, and for current dating status. Attributions and some coping strategies were predictive of posttraumatic growth for both men and women. For women, coping by emotional processing was related to life satisfaction, and growth from a prior relationship was related to current partner respect and relationship satisfaction. Respect and relationship satisfaction were positively correlated for both genders. Individuals in a romantic relationship had greater life satisfaction than individuals not in a relationship. Men’s satisfaction with life was significantly impacted by dating status, whereas women’s satisfaction with life was not. In general, women had higher levels of life satisfaction than men. Clinical implications of the results and future research possibilities are noted.Item The role of marital attributions in the relationship between life stressors and marital quality(Texas A&M University, 2004-09-30) Graham, James MadeiraThis study examines the role that marital attributions may play in the relationship between the occurrence of stressful life events and marital quality. Specifically, it is suggested that within a crisis theory framework, the meaning couples attribute to stressful events may either mediate or moderate the impact of stressors on the marital relationship. First, several models of stress adaptation in families and marriages are discussed. Next, current research on marital attributions is reviewed, and problems with this field of research are explored. Finally, the possible role of marital attributions in stress adaptation is examined. A total of 60 married couples completed measures on current life stressors, marital quality, and marital attributions. The mediational model failed to find support due to the lack of a strong relationship between life stressors and marital attributions. Partial support for the moderational model was found. These results can be interpreted as indicating that the marital quality of couples who make relationship-enhancing attributions about their spouses' negative behaviors is less negatively affected by stress than those who make distress-maintaining attributions. Findings concurrent with the literature on resilience suggest that the experience of life stressors may afford an opportunity for a couple's marriage to strengthen if adaptive marital attributions are used. Differences in the moderational role of marital attributions between men and women and stress adaptation literature suggest future avenues of research.