When actions speak louder than words: Implicational schemata and the attribution of ability

Abstract

Three studies are reported that investigated observer attributions of ability. In these studies, observers were exposed to an actor who either provided an overt portrayal (demonstration) of his level of ability at a task or provided only a verbal portrayal (description) of his level of ability. The level of skill suggested by the actor's behavior and the situational demands surrounding the behavior were systematically manipulated. The results indicated that when observers witnessed an overt portrayal of the actor's ability, dispositional inferences of ability based on the actor's skillful behavior were less affected by situational demands than were inferences based on unskillful behavior. When observers were given only a verbal portrayal of the actor's ability, however, dispositional inferences based on skillful and unskillful behavior were affected to an equal extent by situational demands. Further analyses attempted to relate dispositional inferences to causal attributions. The research was discussed within the framework of a schematic model of dispositional attribution.