Biomedical subjects

Bernard Weiner

Publications and source records attributed to Bernard Weiner.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Whom would you rather help: an acquaintance not responsible for her plight or a responsible sibling?

When 2 persons--an acquaintance who could not have avoided a problem and a close relative who is responsible for her own plight--ask for help, attribution theory and sociobiology conflict about who will receive help. Attribution theorists assume that the nonresponsible acquaintance will be supported, but sociobiologists argue that the responsible sibling will receive help. The authors tested the hypothesis that characteristics of the situation affect which theory better predicts help giving. The results confirmed that in situations that do not affect life and death, a nonresponsible acquaintance would receive more help than a responsible sibling. But in life-or-death situations, inasmuch as the reproductive fitness of the person in need is in danger, a responsible sibling would be supported more than a nonresponsible acquaintance.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Discrete emotions in later life.

More positivity than negativity is demonstrated in this analysis of discrete emotions among 353 community-dwelling individuals from 72 to 99 years old. A complexity in positive emotions was displayed, with more happiness, contentment, and gratitude reported than frustration, sadness, and anger. Our results also imply that another individual's presence may elicit negative emotions such as anger and guilt, whereas perceptions of support may elicit various positive emotions. As expected, certain negative emotions were associated with poor health, with a link between sadness and sickness being most prominent. Of note, poor health did not undermine positive emotions. These findings provide an optimistic view of emotions in later life, even among individuals who are poor, not well educated, and/or physically unwell.

Affect↗

PubMed2003

Asymmetrical attributions for approach versus avoidance behavior.

Five studies examined responsibility inferences and/or person and situation attributions in positively versus negatively valenced motivational contexts. In Experiment 1, participants received information about a teaching assistant who was promised a reward or threatened with a punishment when asked for compliance with a requested transgression. The teaching assistant was perceived as more responsible for complying given the positive than the negative incentive. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2 using different vignettes and incentives. Experiment 3 revealed that the effect of incentive valence on perceived responsibility for compliance remains significant when statistically controlling for perceived compliance rates. Experiment 4 then demonstrated that there are not only greater responsibility judgments given a positive than a negative incentive but also greater dispositional attributions. Finally, Experiment 5 revealed that a similar incentive valence effect is found in other appetitive versus aversive motivational contexts. Theoretical explanations of this phenomenon are discussed.

Adult↗