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On luck and chance: Need for control as a mediator of the attribution of events to luck
Author(s) -
Friedland Nehemia
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of behavioral decision making
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-0771
pISSN - 0894-3257
DOI - 10.1002/bdm.3960050404
Subject(s) - luck , attribution , illusion of control , situational ethics , psychology , control (management) , social psychology , affect (linguistics) , proposition , illusion , personality , event (particle physics) , cognitive psychology , epistemology , economics , management , communication , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics
Chance and luck are regarded as two distinct causal agents that effect different results. Whereas chance is deemed utterly uncontrollable, luck elicits, at the very least, an illusion of control. Hence, need for control might be a decisive factor in determining whether an event is attributed to chance or to luck. More specifically, the greater is a person's need for control, the stronger would be that person's tendency to attribute events to luck. This proposition, along with its implications concerning effects of luck attributions on decision making, were tested in three experiments. The results showed that situational circumstances and personality dispositions that heighten individuals' need for control strengthen their tendency to attribute events and outcomes to luck. The results showed, further, that such attributions can affect the process of decision making.