Causal Attributions: Perceived Dimensions of Causality and Chance

Abstract

A multidimensional scaling analysis was performed to examine how adult subjects perceive causality and chance in relation to each other. 12 hypothetical situations, representing different classes or categories of causality and chance were scaled on the basis of pairwise comparisons. The results indicated that subjects' perception of causality and chance is two-dimensional with one dimension representing the more objective, conventional chance-cause distinction and the other the more subjective cause-reason distinction. Thus, it is argued that not only Buss's (1978, 1979) logical categories of cause and reason have found empirical validation, but important theoretical implications for attribution theory can be derived.

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