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Interpersonal Attributions of Responsibility in the Chinese Workplace: A Test of Western Models in a Collectivistic Context 1
Author(s) -
Zhang Aiqing,
Reyna Christine,
Qian Zhenbo,
Yu Guangtao
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00395.x
Subject(s) - attribution , psychology , social psychology , collectivism , sympathy , interpersonal communication , perception , anger , context (archaeology) , social responsibility , locus of control , public relations , individualism , paleontology , neuroscience , political science , law , biology
When an employee fails in the workplace, judgments of responsibility based on perceived locus and controllability guide how managers motivate the employee. However, this model of attributions has not been tested in highly collectivistic cultures. In the present study, 296 Chinese managers and employees made attributional judgments for a workplace failure, and then made suggestions for how to respond to the failing employee. Results revealed that judgments of responsibility were based on causal locus, as well as perceptions of controllability. Responsibility elicited anger, less sympathy, and predicted behavioral response toward the failing employee. Findings are discussed in terms of the similarities and differences in attributional processes across cultures, especially as they apply to work‐oriented contexts.