Point of view and perceptions of causality

Abstract

2 studies tested the hypothesis that attending to a particular individual in a social situation leads to regarding that individual as the causal agent in the situation. Both studies, using a total of 92 male and female college students, furnished strong support for the hypothesis. The effect did not extend to perceptions of individual behavior as more dispositionally based. The effect was not dependent on differential retention of information about the dependent on perceptual salience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1975 American Psychological Association.