Level of Perceived Coping Ability and Attribution for Negative Events

The present paper explores the determinants of attribution for negative events to the self from a cost-benefit point of view. More specifically, it is argued that causality for negative events and failure in particular will be attributed to the self if the self is the most plausible of possible causes for the event and if the benefits to the attribution system for attributing causality to the most plausible cause outweigh the costs of such an attribution. If the self is not the most plausible cause, or if the costs to the self system of such an attribution outweigh benefits to the attribution system for attributing causality to the most plausible cause, causality for failure will be attributed to some factor other than the self. Results from three experiments in which perceived ability to cope with failure was manipulated are consistent with this model.