Attribution of responsibility and valence of outcome in relation to initial confidence and success and failure of self and other

Tested 128 undergraduates in like-sex pairs with 5 practice and 15 test anagrams varied in difficulty so that 1/2 the Ss would do well and 1/2 poorly. Pretest confidence ratings and posttest attributions of performance to ability or luck, recall measures, and satisfaction ratings for self and other were analyzed. Results indicate that (a) Ss were more confident of other's success than their own, (b) the unexpected outcome was more often attributed to luck, (c) other's success was more often attributed to ability and failure to bad luck than self's own success or failure, (d) a positivity bias in recall favored the other, (e) contrast effects occurred for satisfaction ratings, and (f) task performance was a dominant factor influencing confidence and satisfaction ratings. Results are discussed in terms of models involving F. Heider's principle of balance and his analysis of the causes of action, in terms of positivity biases in social perception, and as indicating effects of the social context of performance upon attribution and valence. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).