THE ACTOR-OBSERVER EFFECT REVISITED - EFFECTS OF INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES AND REPEATED SOCIAL INTERACTIONS ON ACTOR AND OBSERVER ATTRIBUTIONS

This research examined several factors hypothesized to influence the a ctor-observer effect (AGE). Participants engaged in 3 successive dyadi c interactions; after each interaction, they rated the importance of 4 causal factors in influencing their behavior and that of their partne r. The AOE held for 1 external factor, interaction partner, and 1 inte rnal factor, personality but not for situation or mood. Actor and obse rver attributions changed in predicted ways across the 3 interactions: Actors increasingly emphasized the importance of their partner, where as observers increasingly emphasized personality; both actors and obse rvers substantially lowered their attributions to the situation, We fo und consistent individual differences in attributional tendencies that allowed us to predict who showed the AGE. Together, the findings demo nstrate that A-O differences depend on: (a)the specific causal factor invoked, (b) the individual's history in the situation, and (c) indivi dual differences among attributors. Discussion focuses on the limited generality of the AOE and the need for a more complex formulation of A -O differences in attribution.