Communal orientation and attributions between the self and other

Prior research has shown that communally oriented interpersonal relationshi ps are governed by other-oriented behaviors that take into account the need s and feelings of a partner. Communal orientation has been manipulated with in interactions and has also been measured on a dispositional lever. What i s not known, however, are the consequences of being dispositionally communa lly oriented and how interacting with a communally oriented other might inf luence attributions for success and failure. To examine this issue, undergr aduates completed the communal orientation scale and then participated in a joint decision-making task with a randomly assigned partner. Participants then assessed how communally oriented they thought their partner was and re ceived success or failure feedback on the task. Then they were given the op portunity to attribute responsibility for the performance to themselves, th eir partner, or the relationship. Results indicate that communal orientatio n and the perception of the degree of communal orientation of the partner c ontributed to the attribution of responsibility for the performance. These data suggest that communal orientation and a perception of the communal ori entation of another affects attributions even in short-term laboratory-base d interactions.