Understanding Variations in Judgments of Infidelity: An Application of Attribution Theory. Issue 5 (3rd September 2017) - Thompson, Ashley E.
ABSTRACT: The current program of research examined how the four dimensions of the attribution (locus of causality, controllability, stability, intentionality) influenced judgments of a partner's hypothetical infidelity and actor-observer discrepancies associated with judgments of real-life infidelity. The results from Study 1 ( N = 396) revealed that the dimensions of the attribution affected the extent to which adults' judged a partner's hypothetical behavior as indicative of infidelity differently depending on the type of behavior. When reporting on real-life behavior (Study 2, N = 802), adults attributed the cause of their partner's infidelity as being a result of internal, controllable, stable, and intentional causes to a greater extent than when judging their own infidelity.