Keywords
observer
power
status
control
skill
effort
How to Cite
Abstract
The main goal of this research is to analyze the impact of power in the causal attribution. More especifically, we analyze the attributions made by the observer about people's success and failure who differ in the power that they have in their workplace. Results show that both the success and failure obtained by people with high power are explained by controlable, internal attributions, specifically, referring to the effort made by the powerful person. However, the explanation of the outcomes achieved by people with low power show a different pattern. While the success is attributed to the subordinate's effort, the failure is attributed to his or her own low skill. The results were analyzed in relation to previous findings and their involvement in maintaining the status quo.
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