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Causal beliefs amongst families in therapy: Attributions at the group level
Author(s) -
Munton Anthony G.,
Antaki Charles
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
british journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0144-6657
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1988.tb00756.x
Subject(s) - attribution , psychology , family therapy , developmental psychology , social psychology , clinical psychology , psychotherapist
Whereas attribution has traditionally been regarded as an individual process, we argue that attributions can also be located at a group level. A study of the causal beliefs of 10 families undergoing family therapy is reported, which shows that attributional change can be identified as a family as well as an individual process. Families considered not to have ‘changed’ following therapy differed from the ‘changing’ families in attributing negative outcomes to more stable causes, but were similar in their increased use of internal attributions for other people's actions. This pattern is interpreted within family systems theory.