Date of Award

4-11-2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Cheryl Terrance

Abstract

As the severity of an outcome increases, the responsibility assigned to the actor increases. This relationship interacts with actor-observer similarity such that similar others are typically assigned less responsibility in severe instances. These defensive attributions protect the perceiver from the conclusion that a similarly severe outcome could befall him/her. This study investigated the defensive attribution hypothesis as it relates to attributions of controllability, responsibility, and blame as well as punishment outcomes. Outcome severity and actor-perceiver similarity were manipulated using a child neglect paradigm in which a child is left unattended in a vehicle on a hot day. Within this context, the perpetrator may also be perceived as a victim, as the event typically appears to be an accident. Results failed to validate the defensive attribution hypothesis for attributions of controllability, responsibility, and blame. However, group differences based on similarity were found for empathy and empathy, along with other factors, predicted punishment. Legal and societal implications, as well as future research recommendations, are discussed.

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