Effects of Causal Uncertainty on the Dispositional Attribution Process

Abstract

Two studies examined the effects of causal uncertainty on the dispositional attribution process. Because of its association with a lack of confidence in one's ability to identify and analyze the causes of events, high chronic causal uncertainty was predicted to reduce people's adjustment for situational factors relevant to a target's behavior when making a dispositional attribution. In both experiments, participants read about a target's behavior and situational information relevant to the target's behavior. Participants higher in causal uncertainty showed less adjustment of dispositional attributions for the situational information.