Defensive Attribution: A Re-examination Distinguishing between Behavioral and Characterlogical Blame.

Many theories have been proposed to explain the blaming the victim phenomena and to predict who is most likely to engage in this behavior. This study hypothesized that since behavioral blame of a victim is self-protective for an observer, this type of blaming will be evidenced more by those who are personally and situationally similar to the victim than by subjects who are situationally similar but personally dissimilar. The latter were expected to utilize characterlogical blame more than the former. These predictions are congruent with the tenets of defensive attribution theory once the important distinction between behavioral and characterlogical blame is taken into account. Subjects (N=30) were female undergraduate students at St. Bonaventure University (New York) who responded to a vignette describIng a rape in the local area, with a victim named either John or Sue providing the gender manipulation. Support was not obtained for the refo-mulation of defensive attribution theory represented by the proposition that subjects of the same gender as victims would attribute more behavioral and less characterlor!ical blame to the victim than subjects of the opposite gender. The fact that in all conditions subjects preferred behavioral to characterlogical blame offers a possible explanation for the failure to support the hypotheses. The data yielded a significantly greater attribution to chance for scenarios involving male victims rather than remale victims. (LLL) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can De made from the original document. ********t************************************************************** Defensive Attribution Defensive Attribution: A Re-examination Distinguishing Between Behavioral and characterlogical Blame Catherine Panzarella-Tse Temple University and Pamela M. Mc Mahon Southern College of Technology Running Head: DEFENSIVE ATTRIBUTION U.S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Cdt. e of E ducehonatt Research and fmprevement EOUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER IERICI 7Tn.s document has been reproduced IR recered f.orn the oerriOn or organi:atmn ortspnaten et POMO/ etillegeS Mere been made ro .mProve renroctuebbn Qv/my Fomts ot weer)? Op.monS stated ift this (mu-. ment de hot rieresaartly repreSertt orfre.st OF fit postlion or pofic} PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL. HAS BEEN GRANTED BY