Title

Defensive Attributions as a Function of Gender

Document Type

Thesis

Comments


Presented to the Honors Committee of Texas State University-San Marcos In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For Graduation in the University Honors Program, May, 2009.
Thesis Advisor:
Dr. Randall Osborne

Abstract

Two hundred thirty six students were assessed based on their self-esteem, locus of control, and defensive attributions made. Participants read two different scenarios of abuse and answered questions about who they blamed for the abuse. Participants with an external locus of control were found to blame the men more for the abuse in comparison to participants with an internal locus of control (M = -1.8268, SD = 1.38355, for external and M = -1.1852, SD = 1.63146 for internal). Participants with low self-esteem were found to blame the man less for the abuse in comparison with participants with high self-esteem (M = -1.3147, SD = 1.64387 for low self-esteem and M = -1.7125, SD = 1.42702 for high self-esteem). Self-esteem and locus of control were both found to be significant predictors of the ratings of the causes of abuse.