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Cognitive processes and conflict in close relationships: an attribution-efficacy model.
1University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 61820.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|December 1, 1987
Summary
Cognitive models of relationship conflict were revised to include responsibility judgments. The revised model better explains marital conflict than mother-child conflict, highlighting the role of attributions and responsibility mediation.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Cognitive processes, specifically causal attributions and perceived efficacy, are central to conflict in close relationships.
- Doherty's (1978, 1981a, 1981b) model proposed attributions and efficacy as key factors in relationship conflict.
- Previous models lacked integration with self-efficacy theory and explicit consideration of responsibility judgments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To revise Doherty's model of cognitive processes in relationship conflict by incorporating judgments of responsibility and linking it to self-efficacy theory.
- To test the revised attribution-efficacy model in both mother-child and husband-wife relationships.
- To examine the mediating role of responsibility judgments in the relationship between conflict dimensions and causal attributions.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted, one examining mother-child relationships and the other husband-wife relationships.
- Participants' causal attributions for conflict and efficacy expectations were assessed.
- Judgments of responsibility were measured to explore their mediating role.
Main Results:
- The revised model showed limited support in mother-child relationships, suggesting relationship-specific cognitive processes.
- Stronger evidence was found for the revised attribution-efficacy model in explaining marital conflict.
- The attributional component of the model was better supported than the efficacy expectations component.
- Responsibility judgments were found to mediate the relationship between conflict dimensions (e.g., blame) and causal dimensions in both studies.
Conclusions:
- The revised attribution-efficacy model offers a useful framework for understanding marital conflict.
- Cognitive processes underlying conflict, particularly attributions and responsibility, are crucial in close relationships.
- Further research is needed to explore the nuances of efficacy expectations and relationship-specific cognitive processes in conflict resolution.