Attributions for delinquent behaviour: Impact of consensus and consistency information

Abstract

Male and female subjects made judgements concerning the delinquent behaviours of a male stimulus person. A video-taped interview with the youth was presented along with a 'clinic folder' containing information about the consensus and the consistency of his behaviours. An interaction between these information dimensions was predicted. The results revealed three-way interactions (consensusoeconsistencyoesex of observer) on some items, but simple main effects on other items. The results were discussed in terms of the focus of attention created by the various items. When the focus was on the actor, consistency information dominated. A focus on the environment led to reliance on the consensus variations. Directing attention to both causal factors produced the interaction.